Football injury expert Ben Dinnery has given his thoughts on Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin and his recovery following photos that he posted on social media.
The Frenchman has been a pretty key part of the Newcastle side this season – contributing with five goals and three assists so far this term, whilst also leading the team in shots and dribbles per game and ranking third for key passes (via WhoScored).
However, he missed their last game against West Ham United with an injury. He provided fans with an update when it came to his recovery, posting a picture on his Instagram account (via The Chronicle) alongside the message “Rehab in progress”, which would indicate that he may well still be in Monaco, where he has been dealing with his injury.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Dinnery discussed the injury situation surrounding the Frenchman ahead of their game this weekend against Brentford, and claimed that given his knowledge of similar situations, it would very much be touch-and-go for their game this weekend regarding his availability, purely based on the time that he has spent with the club in the build-up to the match.
He said: “Typically, when you speak to medical departments what the expectation is, if a player can’t take part in full training ahead of the game, they will not be considered.
“And given the timeframes and where he currently is, it looks highly unlikely at this moment in time, although Eddie Howe’s said it wasn’t too serious, it’s more an impact injury around that calf area.”
TIF Thoughts on Ben Dinnery’s comments about Allan Saint-Maximin at Newcastle United…
Will Saint-Maximin play this weekend?
Yes!
No!
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the trip to west London, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe claimed that it would be “a late call” when it came to Saint-Maximin and his injury, so it looks as if it will indeed be touch and go for the game on Saturday.
And as such, it would be an incredibly major risk for Howe to put Saint-Maximin in the side and risk losing him for further games. Whilst every game is important for Newcastle right now given their place in the table, the last thing that they need is for such a key player to be out of action for weeks or even months at a time when he could turn out to be a crucial player for them at the business end of the season.
It’s better to lose the battle but win the war, as it were, plus given Newcastle’s recent form, even if they do lose one game without him in the side, they’ve shown that they are more than capable of bouncing back and capable of putting up a good fight in the battle for the drop, so one game in the grand scheme of things for Saint-Maximin may well have to be a sacrifice for the greater good.
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