An exclusive was reported in The Independent claiming Rafa Benitez may be forced to miss our trip to Swansea on Sunday as he continues to recover from a recent operation, however Sky Sports now report that he is now expected to resume training duties on Friday and WILL take his place in the dugout this weekend – despite still recovering from treatment.
Benitez was understood to have chose the international break to have the operation as it would not impact on his duties with Newcastle, however the Spaniard missed training on both Tuesday and Wednesday after failing to recover as quickly as he would have liked.
After the Independent initially suggested that he could be forced to miss Sunday’s game due to medical advice, Sky Sports’ North East reporter Keith Downie claims that his understanding on the matter is that he will return to the Benton training base on Friday and be present at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday:
We understand Rafa Benitez will return to training on Friday and will take his place in the dugout at Swansea despite his hernia treatment.
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) September 6, 2017
This is a relief, with Benitez’s absence on the touch line likely to have been a big miss should he have missed out. Here’s hoping he continues to make a speedy recovery and does in fact feel able to take his place in the dugout for Sunday’s game.