From the Treatment Room

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke gives an update - in association with Spire Roding hospital
Hello everyone,

We will start with the good news this week.

Victor Moses is training fully after six weeks out with a hamstring injury and will be available for Saturday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Newcastle United.

Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate have a good chance to be available for some part of the game at St James’ Park.

Cheikhou suffered a groin problem in the win over Liverpool on 2 January, while Mauro had a small thigh problem last week in training.

Dimitri Payet has made a quick return from the serious high ankle injury and made his first start in two months at Bournemouth on Tuesday night.
 
Dimi played for 80 minutes and came off with cramps as his body is not yet fully adapted to the demands of the Premier League after his injury, but that will get better with every game.
 
Dimi and Enner Valencia missed a lot of training days and during this congested period it is important to recover. The lack of training days will be compensated during 'normal' weeks with less games.
 
After a Tuesday night game, the main job of the Medical and Sports Science team is to optimise the recovery of the players, minimise fatigue and ensure they are as fresh as possible for Saturday’s match.

Some players are more fatigued than others, some played more and others lack training due to injuries. We individualise the training programs and adapt the daily routine accordingly to make sure players are ready to play.

We picked up an injury and a few knocks and bruises from the mid week game game. unfortunately Andy Carroll came off with a hamstring injury and he will have a scan on Thursday, after which we will know more about the extent of the problem.

If it is a Grade One injury, he will be out for around ten days, while a Grade Two injury means four to six weeks, depending on what part of the muscle is injured.
We'll have more news tomorrow.

Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science