From the Treatment Room

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues his latest injury update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital
Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke issues his latest injury update – in association with Spire Roding Hospital...

Hello everyone,

We will start with Dimitri Payet, who has suffered a significant high ankle sprain, or syndesmosis injury, to his left leg.

After consulting the specialist on Monday, the ankle specialist decided not to operate on Dimitri, which is good news. The bad news is that he will still be out for 12 weeks if all goes to plan.

Dimi is an intelligent, experienced football player with a good body awareness and understands the biomechanics of the injury he has suffered. He is a top professional and positive about the rehabilitation period ahead.

The first phase is to let the body heal and it is important that his high ankle sprain is given the ability to scar. The ligaments are damaged and need to get strong again, and this is done by allowing scar tissue to develop.

For two weeks, he will be using the boot to keep the joint in a certain position, allowing the body to heal without straining the injured ligaments.

Enner Valencia has suffered a high ankle sprain to his right leg. He is going through an immobilisation period of two weeks at present and we will reassess the situation at the end of this period.
We have some positive news regarding Diafra Sakho, who has returned to full training following his recovery from a quadriceps injury suffered ahead of the Watford game. Diafra will be available for Sunday’s game at Tottenham Hotspur.

Pedro Obiang will join training this week after recovering from the thigh injury he suffered in training before the Watford away match.

Alex Song came through his first game in six months against Reading. It was a success and he had no reaction from a medical point of view.

He is training fully with the squad for several weeks now and is getting closer to making his return to the Premier League.

We are coming to the end of the international break. James Collins returned after playing 45 minutes for Wales in good health, while we all congratulate Darren Randolph on helping Republic of Ireland to qualify for EURO 2016. Unfortunately, Darren picked up minor knock and will miss a few days off training.

Cheikhou Kouyate had a very long haul flight to and from Madagascar, where Senegal drew 2-2, and he then captained his country and scored in a 3-0 in in the second leg.

So I'm pleased to report that everyone is looking forward to Sunday's big game with Tottenham. Let's hope we can get another fine away win.
 
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science