Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues his latest update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital
Hello everyone,
Let's start this week with Diafra Sakho as there has been so much speculation and rumour over the past few days.
Diafra unfortunately suffered a significant injury to his left thigh during Sunday’s Barclays Premier League draw with West Bromwich Albion. He underwent a scan on Wednesday and will see a specialist on Thursday, when we hope to learn more and put a more certain timeframe on his absence. We will bring you more information via whufc.com when we have it.
We have more positive news surrounding Enner Valencia, who suffered a high ankle sprain in a heavy challenge during our draw with Everton last month.
The Ecuador international forward has come through a period of immobilisation, during which we gave him permission to return home to South America to spend some time with his family. This is important, as having a positive mental outlook is beneficial to any player who is looking at a period away from the Training Ground.
We are pleased to report that Enner is progressing very well and, should his rehab continue to go as planned, he has a good chance to play before the end of the year. He is ahead of schedule and we have been very happy with his progress.
Dimitri Payet is still in a period of immobilisation after suffering a high ankle sprain in a strong tackle in the same match against Everton. This means that he is still wearing a walking boot, which protects the ankle and keeps the joint in a certain position, allowing the body to heal without straining the injured ligaments.
Dimi is still able to work on his general fitness and do strength and conditioning work on his upper body. Should everything continue to go to plan, Dimi will progress to the second, more active stage in his rehab this week.
Finally, I’m pleased to say that Darren Randolph is now back to full fitness. He injured his knee on international duty with Ireland but has now fully recovered and is available for selection on Saturday.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science
Let's start this week with Diafra Sakho as there has been so much speculation and rumour over the past few days.
Diafra unfortunately suffered a significant injury to his left thigh during Sunday’s Barclays Premier League draw with West Bromwich Albion. He underwent a scan on Wednesday and will see a specialist on Thursday, when we hope to learn more and put a more certain timeframe on his absence. We will bring you more information via whufc.com when we have it.
We have more positive news surrounding Enner Valencia, who suffered a high ankle sprain in a heavy challenge during our draw with Everton last month.
The Ecuador international forward has come through a period of immobilisation, during which we gave him permission to return home to South America to spend some time with his family. This is important, as having a positive mental outlook is beneficial to any player who is looking at a period away from the Training Ground.
We are pleased to report that Enner is progressing very well and, should his rehab continue to go as planned, he has a good chance to play before the end of the year. He is ahead of schedule and we have been very happy with his progress.
Dimitri Payet is still in a period of immobilisation after suffering a high ankle sprain in a strong tackle in the same match against Everton. This means that he is still wearing a walking boot, which protects the ankle and keeps the joint in a certain position, allowing the body to heal without straining the injured ligaments.
Dimi is still able to work on his general fitness and do strength and conditioning work on his upper body. Should everything continue to go to plan, Dimi will progress to the second, more active stage in his rehab this week.
Finally, I’m pleased to say that Darren Randolph is now back to full fitness. He injured his knee on international duty with Ireland but has now fully recovered and is available for selection on Saturday.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science