Michael Beale expressed his sympathy for his predecessor having to contend with an injury list that saw him regularly have to do without key players, however, he was also clearly enthusiastic at the possibility of getting some of them back in the coming weeks.
Already, we’ve seen Kemar Roofe back in training with Alex Lowry also impressing in the early sessions that we’ve seen, two areas where we were desperately short of quality and options under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
One man who we’ve seen on the grass but not in full training yet is Ianis Hagi and for all that the word coming out of his camp is that he isn’t far away, Alan Hutton reckons that it might be some time yet before we see him getting game time, as reported by Football Insider:
“I do not think he will go straight back in. I think it takes time.
“He has been out for such a lengthy period that to just throw him back in and put the onus on him that he is going to be where he was before the injury is silly.
“His minutes are going to have to be looked at so he does not break down. I am sure it will be a steady process easing him back in.
“Of course he adds something different, something the team have probably been missing on that right-hand side. He will be welcomed back I am sure.“
Hagi, or a player like him, has been the biggest absence this season. In too many games our midfield has been about perspiration rather than inspiration and we have needed someone who can produce a moment of magic and find a teammate in a packed box or score from outside the box.
The 24-year old has had a successful rehabilitation in that he hasn’t had any set-backs, every box has been ticked along the way and he is exactly on schedule in terms of his recovery – the next stage is a gradual introduction into team training and then contact, only then will he become eligible for selection and even then, as Hutton rightly says, he won’t be in any condition to start games for quite some time.
It won’t be long until he is joining the squad and Michael Beale for training and it’s a toss up for who will be happier – the fans, the player or the manager.