Medical expert Ben Dinnery believes that Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa’s ongoing wrist problem is less of an injury than many may think.
As relayed by The Athletic last month, caretaker boss Steve Davis confirmed that the goalkeeper has been playing with a fractured wrist since the second weekend of the season.
The Portuguese shot-stopper has played every minute of the subsequent 12 matches and has managed to keep three clean sheets in that time, even stopping a penalty in the win over Nottingham Forest.
But speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery has now commented on Sa’s ongoing injury.
He said: “I think this occurred at the beginning of the season.
“He only just returned after injuring himself on the final day of last season, he re-joined the group at the back end of pre-season and came in and suffered that setback.
“It is a hairline fracture, so it’s non-displaced. Inherently, in terms of being able to play, it’s obviously not impacting too much.
“There’s always going to be an element of pain management there. The important thing to remember is you have that duty of care. It’s not just about short-term management but how will this impact in the long-term?
“The decision and risk-reward of involving him is obviously a discussion that the backroom staff have had.
“There will be tenderness, but it won’t be affecting that range of movement in his wrist. It sounds probably a lot more serious than it maybe is.
“The focus in this World Cup break will be for Jose Sa to look to get that sorted. It will respond well to rest and conservative treatment.
“Coming into the second half of the campaign, the hope will be he’ll be absolutely fine.
“If you were to ask the majority of players at this stage of the season how they feel about their fitness, I’d suggest the majority are carrying some sort of ailment to some extent.”
TIF Thoughts on Dinnery’s comments…
Has Sa been Wolves' best player this season?Yes!
No!
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Sa is expected to be picked as Portugal’s third-choice keeper for the forthcoming World Cup, but his existing injury may hamper those plans.
That remains to be seen, however, if the ‘keeper was to stay at home, it would certainly benefit the Old Gold.
As Dinnery pointed out, it would afford the 29-year-old more of a chance to heal.
Considering only three goalkeepers have a worse save percentage (Fbref) than the ex-Olympiacos No 1 in the Premier League this season, he could well do with the hiatus to recover, which would certainly give the Midlanders a better chance of avoiding the drop.