DESPITE hoping to return in time to face Wigan this weekend,
defender Christian Dailly has sadly suffered a set-back in his bid
to regain fitness, picking up a calf strain that forced him to
withdraw from the Reserve team in midweek.
The Scottish international will now definitely miss the next two
matches against Wigan and Burnley.
Having orginally undergone knee surgery in September,
Christian's recovery was on track until a thigh strain in the
New Year forced him back into the treatment room. The 31-year-old
still fought his way back towards fitness and was desperately
disappointed to see his recovery derailed yet again, as Alan
Pardew explained.
"Christian has suffered a slight calf strain," he said.
"It's not related to his previous injury, but nevertheless
it's very disappointing because we expected Christian to be fit
for these two games coming up.
"It's really disappointing for him and also the squad,
because Christian is an important player for us and at this stage
of the season it would have been great to have his experience to
call on.
"I'm reluctant to say when he'll be back because
Christian keeps getting these small set-backs. We'll just
assess what damage has been done and then see how he responds to
treatment.
"There's no one more contentious than Christian. He's
a top professional and no one will work harder to get back to
fitness than Christian. Hopefully, we can get him back as soon
as possible and he can still have a part to play this season."
Also in the treatment room for this weekend Malky Mackay, Sergei
Rebrov and Steve Lomas are all suffering with calf injuries, while
Don Hutchison is out with a long term knee problem.
But Matty Etherington is back to full fitness after missing the
Leicester City game with a jarred knee.
Injury Update
1st April 2005