Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues an update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital...
Hello everyone,
We will start with the positive news this week, which is that Aaron Cresswell, Havard Nordtveit and Jonathan Calleri have all returned to full training.
Aaron was injured in a pre-season match with Karlsruhe in Austria in July, while Havard is back in training after undergoing a small medical procedure, while Jonathan has had a minor injury.
Arthur Masuaku is progressing very well after suffering a knee injury in the EFL Cup tie with Accrington Stanley. Arthur will have the brace removed from his knee early next week, after which we will progress to the next step in his rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, Sam Byram and Gokhan Tore have both suffered injuries since the last From the Treatment Room was published.
Sam suffered a significant hamstring injury in the early stages of our Premier League fixture with Middlesbrough.
He has seen a specialist and underwent an operation on Saturday to reduce the risk of a re-injury and ensure he makes a full recovery as soon as possible.
Gokhan injured his quadriceps in training during the international break and is going to be out for 4-6 weeks.
Andre Ayew is continuing his rehab from the thigh injury he suffered in the opening Premier League fixture at Chelsea in August.
He is entering the stage, a mini pre-season, where he needs to get significant fitness work under his belt in order to cope with the demands of the Premier League and adapt to the new biomechanics following a significant injury, basically hard work day after day.
You will have seen that Andre travelled to his home country of Ghana, where he and Ashley Fletcher spent two days promoting the Club and principal partner Betway.
Myself and first-team sports scientist Tom Taylor travelled with the players to Ghana, where Andre continued his rehab with me on the pitch and in the gym.
We also took the opportunity to share some of our methods with local coaches and give a training session to some promising young footballers, which added to the experience of visiting a fascinating country.
Diafra Sakho is also undertaking his own pre-season, working very hard on his fitness levels with a view to join the squad on the pitch.
And finally, Andy Carroll is continuing his rehab following the knee injury he suffered in the UEFA Europa League tie in Romania in August.
He is working as hard as he can on the pitch and in the gym, making progress. Andy has a few bridges to cross before he can join in first team training.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science