Irons progress on several fronts

Whilst Dimitri Payet’s injury is the most significant blow to the club, there’s been great progress on various other fronts.

Head of Medical and Sports Science Stijn Vandenbroucke was delighted with yesterday’s match against Palace reporting:“We played Crystal Palace on Wednesday in a behind-closed-doors game which was very competitive because both clubs put out strong squads which could have played in the Premier League.

“Alex Song played 70 minutes in this game without any problems, which was a good step in the right direction as it was his first game in six months.

“Also positive is that Winston Reid came through 90 minutes against Everton on Saturday after four weeks out. He is now going to have a few days rest and we can build him up again for the Tottenham Hotspur game.

“Diafra Sakho has been out running on the pitch this week and we are very confident we can recover him from his quadriceps injury for the trip to Tottenham, should he not suffer any setbacks.

“Pedro Obiang is continuing with his own rehabilitation following the quadriceps injury he suffered in training before the Watford game.”