Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke with his latest update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital...
Hello everyone,
We had a memorable victory over Liverpool in the Emirates FA Cup on Tuesday night and it was a win which will be long remembered under the lights at the Boleyn Ground.
We could see what it meant to the management, players, board, supporters and everyone connected with the football club.
Unfortunately the victory came at a price as several of the players suffered injuries during the 2-1 victory.
Winston Reid and Joey O'Brien both picked up injuries to their left hamstring and will have a scan on Thursday.
Cheikhou Kouyate lost consciousness during a challenge with Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan.
He came off the pitch with mild concussion and was taken to hospital to clear any further problems. He was cleared by a specialist and is fine now.
The rules stipulate that when a player is concussed, they cannot have significant physical activity for the next six days so he will miss the weekend game against Norwich.
Hopefully if everything is okay we can get him fit for the FA Cup Fifth round tie against Blackburn.
With the game going into extra-time and the players being asked to play 120 minutes, there were a few other knocks and bruises but we hope to recover them in time for the trip to Norwich at the weekend.
James Tomkins injured his left calf during the game against Southampton last Saturday and will be out of action for the next six weeks.
Alex Song also picked up a minor knock against Southampton but we are positive he will be fit for the Norwich game.
We have more positive news with the return of Manuel Lanzini and Diafra Sakho from long-term injuries.
Lanzini is only a few days away before re-joining the team.
Sakho is not far behind him but he needs more work because he has been out for around ten weeks so he will have a period of extra fitness work under his belt.
We hope to see him back in action by the end of the month.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science