SWANS: BEN’S OP WENT WELL

BEN Cabango has successfully undergone surgery to repair his ankle.

The defender (left) was left injured after being on the receiving end of a firm challenge from former Swan Jamal Lowe during his side’s 3-3 draw with Bournemouth last month.

Cabango was unable to feature in Swansea’s final two matches of the campaign against Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers as a result, while he will miss Wales’s five June fixtures, including the World Cup playoff final against either Scotland or Ukraine. He is expected to resume full training before the start of the 2022-23 season.

“It doesn’t change the time scale at all,” said Martin on the academy product’s expected return date following the operation.

“Rather than leave it, they’ve decided to operate on it now in case we leave it and he needs one further down the line.

“He’ll be back for halfway through pre-season I would have thought. I expect him to be fit for in and around the first game.”

Ryan Manning, meanwhile, believes Swansea should be targeting a top 10 finish at the very least next season.

The Swans finished 15th in their debut campaign under Russell Martin after collecting 61 points.

Their pre-season was heavily disrupted due to the late exit of Steve Cooper combined with a significant squad turnover and Covid-19 issues.

But with a full pre-season in the tank this summer, Republic of Ireland international Manning believes Swansea should have the play-offs in their sights next term.

“I think with a good pre-season behind us after a year of this philosophy and understanding how the manager wants us to play, I think that’s going to be crucial to get a good start,” he told the club website.

“The slow start killed us this year, because we finished quite brightly. So pre-season will be massive. I think we have to be looking for play-offs next season, or top 10 at least.

“With the squad we have, the way we play, the games we’ve dominated this season but not got our rewards out of, we know If we eradicate the mistakes and take advantage when we’re on top, we can turn draws and losses into more points.”

The fixtures for the 2022-23 season will be released on June 23.