Rafa Benitez makes shock admission when asked about Florian Lejeune's knee injury
by Olly Hawkins · 19 August 2018, 20:07
Despite fears that he would be ruled out for the entire 2018/19 season, Rafa Benitez has admitted that Florian Lejeune may be back in action in just FOUR months time - suggesting he could return much quicker than expected after his serious knee injury.
The Frenchman ruptured his anterior-cruciate ligament during pre-season and has recently undergone successful surgery in Italy, with several videos being posted on social media showing him in the rehabilitation phase.
Historically, this is an injury that would tend to rule a player out for an entire season, but Benitez has suggested that the 27-year old may even return to the squad in the early part of 2019 after a strong start to the recovery process:
“Normally this injury, in the past, could be nine months. It depends on what is going on, but it was between six and nine months,”
“Now, in our experience with this surgeon [Professor Mariani] in Italy, it takes less - normally between four and six months. It depends what is going on and if we have any complications.”
When asked if we could see the Frenchman back before the end of the season, here's what Rafa had to say:
“Yes, for sure,”
“Last year we had Rolando, and he was fine in four months with the same surgeon."
As ever with these serious knee injuries, he will not be rushed back into action, but it is great to hear that we may see him return sooner than expected.
We now have several options in Clark, Fernandez and Schar, but his ball playing ability and partnership with Jamaal Lascelles is something we've clearly missed in our opening two games.
Fingers crossed he can make a full recovery and return in good time!
