Regis Le Bris has confirmed that Tommy Watson will face a two-month recovery after sustaining a "knee and ankle" injury against Bristol City and discussed the potential options to replace the youngster on the left wing. RLB also gave a positive update on Ian Poveda and Salis Abdul Samed, who have both struggled massively with injuries since arriving in the summer.
TWO MONTHS FOR TOMMY
“It should be two months to recover properly, with his ankle and his knee. It was a big impact, he could’ve scored, but at the end it was not a very strong injury, but enough to be out of the pitch for two months. Tommy did well, and started very well with the team. Now he has to wait, so it’s a part of the journey and the career to be faced with these problems, especially in the Championship with massive intensity in duels, and when you have to repeat games, it’s obviously risky."
COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE
"He needs time to recover now. It’s only two months, it could’ve been worse, because sometimes you can be faced with a six-month injury, and it’s really different. It’s just a reminder that everything is fragile.”
SAMED/POVEDA CLOSE
"Salis is on the way. I think this week was eleven of 11 of his recovery programme, so it should be around one week more before he is ready to join us in full training. So I'm hopeful he will be ready for the team at the beginning of January. Ian trained with us this [Thursday] morning, so he should be ready very quickly."
MAYENDA ON THE WING
"With Eliezer, he has to understand that he has an extra power. He's very strong, very quick and when he plays as a nine the main action he has to manage is a little bit different. When you are a left-footed player on the right wing you have different options. When you are on the left, it is different again. He just needs to spend time in that position to find out what he is able to do and to build that conviction. It's about experiences and more experiences. He has many good qualities to play in this position, but it is a different style of play. It will be more about pushing outside and crossing than driving inside, which is harder for a left footer on this side. It's just a question of time."
KEEP WILSON CENTRAL
"Even if at the moment he is less clinical, he is very important to the team. Many runs in behind, always connected with the team, he has improved on the defensive side as well. Even when he doesn't score, he is important to the team [through the middle]. He has the confidence of the team and my confidence as well. He has scored goals with more difficult chances earlier in the season [so it is a matter of time]."
