After suffering a thigh injury against Chelsea, Mamadou Sakho is continuing his comeback at a French medical centre/
Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho is trying to speed up the recovery of his thigh injury by receiving treatment at France’s famous Clairefontaine National Technical Centre.
The French defender limped out late in the draw against Chelsea. It is expected that he will return to the squad for the visit of Swansea on the 23rd of February, but it is unlikely that he will play until the trip to Southampton on the 1st of March.
Many French footballers prefer to finalise their recovery at Clairefontaine due to its exceptional reputation and state-of-the-art facilities. Back in April 2013 the Clairefontaine Medical Centre was awarded the privileged status of being included as one of FIFA’s Medical Centres of Excellence.
As well as playing a huge part in the development of France’s next generation of superstars, the complex is used as a base before all French home internationals. It can also call upon sports injury and medicine specialist, Dr Pascal Maile, providing expertise in sportspeople undergoing pre- or post-surgery rehabilitation or recovering from injury.
“FIFA’s decision to bestow its ‘Medical Centre of Excellence’ status is a reward for the efforts made on behalf of Clairefontaine and the hopes placed in it,” said the FFF President Noel Le Graet.
“The fact that this distinction is granted to a limited number of centres across the globe makes us feel even greater pride here at the FFF. FIFA and its medical staff have really honoured our Federation.”
Liverpool fans will be happy to hear that Sakho couldn’t be in better hands, the former Paris Saint-Germain defender has been in excellent form since joining the club last summer. His performances even merited a return to the French national team and his magnificent performance against Ukraine in the World Cup play-off inspired France to a 3-0 win in the Stade de France.
| Name | Team | Pos | Appearances | Error Lead To Goal | Total Tackle | Won Tackle | Apps | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamadou Sakho | Liverpool | DF | 12 | 0 | 22 | 20 | 12 | 1,029 |
He is a certainty to be included in Didier Deschamps 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil, and Brendan Rodgers will hope that Sakho can return to the first-team in March, helping Liverpool’s quest for Champions League football. The partnership between Martin Skrtel and Sakho had been working extremely well for Rodgers before the Frenchman’s injury.
If Liverpool want to finish at least fourth, or perhaps go all the way and lift the Premier League trophy, they need Sakho back fit and firing on all cylinders for the final few months. Recovering at Clairefontaine gives him the best possible chance.
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