Swans facing double blow as Sanches and Bony are doubts
SWANSEA City are facing a double injury blow with summer signings Renato Sanches and Wilfried Bony rated as doubtful to face Huddersfield Town tomorrow.
Sanches picked up a thigh strain while away on international duty as Portugal booked their place at next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia, and played no part in their games against Andorra and Switzerland.
The 20-year-old, on loan at the Liberty Stadium from Bayern Munich, had looked to be discovering a little bit of form after an uncertain start to life in SA1, and head coach Paul Clement could have done without the problem which has rendered him “a big doubt” for the weekend.
“Renato Sanches is a big doubt, he picked up a minor thigh strain training with Portugal,” said Clement.
“It looks like it will rule him out on Saturday. It is disappointing for Renato, he has improved and his fitness has improved but it is a short term injury and if he misses out this weekend he could and should be fit for the game after against Leicester.”
Striker Bony, meanwhile, is being monitored after experiencing discomfort while away with the Ivory Coast.
The former Manchester City man was withdrawn at half-time in the defeat to West Ham with a tight hamstring, but a subsequent scan revealed no injury.
However, it has since been discovered that the 28-year-old has a nerve problem in his calf which was causing him to experience tightness in his hamstring.
He has received treatment back at Swansea’s Fairwood base this week, but Clement will give Bony as much time as possible to prove his fitness, although he accepts he may not be ready to start.
“We are monitoring Wilfried closely, he rejoined training today. We will have to assess him over the next couple of days and see how he is. He is 50/50 for a start,” said Clement.
“He went away and they, the Ivory Coast, did a scan, which showed a little bit of something in the calf.
“But it wasn’t clear whether that was an old injury and showed a bit of scar tissue which was affecting a nerve which went up to his hamstring. “That basically happened. “He was good to go, given the allclear by us and the Ivory Coast but he didn’t feel comfortable and, at that point, he said ‘It’s best that I don’t take part’.
“So he returned and came back last weekend and he had treatment for the first couple of days and was reintegrated back in individually, and then he rejoined the group on Thursday.
“That’s the point where we’re at. I’ll speak to the medical staff and to Wilfried about how he feels and whether he thinks he can contribute on the weekend.”
There is some good injury news for Clement, with winger Nathan Dyer and midfielder Ki Sung-yueng in contention for selection following Achilles and knee injuries respectively.