Some surprisingly positive comments on Miguel Almiron’s knee injury have emerged from South America this afternoon.
This comes from Osvaldo Insfran – a doctor for the Paraguayan national side – who reveals that the Newcastle United star has told him he is ‘pain free’, able to run on a treadmill and still in contention to feature in Paraguay’s World Cup qualifiers later this month.
Considering NUFC announced earlier today that he wouldn’t be back until April, it’s interesting – albeit slightly worrying from our perspective – to see that Paraguay’s doctor believes he could yet feature in their clashes with Chile (March 26th) and Colombia (31st March).
Speaking on a host of local radio stations, here’s what Insfran’s had to say – insisting Almiron should be ready to play again in FOUR weeks time:
“Miguel Almirón has a right knee injury and it would be 4 weeks to recover.
“I still haven’t seen the MRI, but I spoke with him and he is pain free, running on the treadmill.
“I was in contact with the Newcastle doctor, also with Almirón, we have to evaluate his injury, it is not serious and we hope that he can play and that he is with us”
“A week of time will be essential to see a projection on his injury.”
One issue this creates is that his national team try to rush him back in a bid to have him ‘fit’ for their crucial World Cup qualifiers – something that could well backfire and must be stopped from our end.
Paraguayan-American journalist Roberto Rojas has also shared an intriguing update from Almiron on social media, with his post below suggesting he’s not given up on featuring for his country later this month.
Although an international call up would be a huge risk we must avoid, it is very promising to hear that he’s not in pain, able to run and being tipped for a swift return, with Almiron’s above post also suggesting he is optimistic he’ll be back playing sooner than first expected.
A four week absence would still rule him out of upcoming games with West Brom, Aston Villa and Brighton (20th March), however this update from Paraguay suggests he could well be ready for our home clash with Tottenham on April 3rd.
It’s still a bitter blow and one Steve Bruce must manage carefully over the coming weeks, but it seems his knee injury is MUCH less serious than some first feared.
