Despite a satisfactory deadline day which saw three new faces come in to the first team squad, and the retention of Dan Williams, Morgan Whittaker and Matt Grimes swans manager Russell Martin still has to ‘manage‘ his teams resources after two weeks of rehabilitation.
Liam Walsh is still recovering from a hamstring injury but the good news is he is back in training, it is extremely unlikely he will face Hull. Korey Smith too is back in training but again he needs more time to become fit enough for selection. Olivier Ntcham by his own admission is not match fit and has been doing extra training away from the first team squad in an attempt to boost his chances for inclusion on Saturday. "He's a real physical specimen, he's a great athlete and he's trained really hard” Martin stated yesterday.
On Ntcham, Russell Martin said, "He's trained in Clairefontaine at the national academy in France with a few other players and full-time fitness coaches so he's been really committed to his training. "I expect Olivier to be available for Hull." Walshy's back training, it's like a new signing for us," explained the Swans boss. "It's been a real positive to see him back on the training pitch. He is an excellent footballer so we're really looking forward to working with him because he really suits what we want to do. "We have to take care of him and manage him because he's had a tough time, so we need to make sure he's ready." Korey Smith is another Martin commented on "Yes, Korey, he's feeling knackered after the birth of third child, so congratulations to him and his partner. Everyone's really pleased for him. "But he's coming on nicely, he's working really hard in the gym. We hope to have him back before long."
Flynn Downes and Ben Cabango have been described as still suffering from the after effects of COVID-19 by Russell Martin, and their return to fitness is taking longer than anticipated. "They both look like they've been through the ropes with Covid," admitted Martin. "They're slowly coming back to where they need to be, they've been feeling the effects of it and they're quite tired. They both had quite a lot of symptoms so it's been tough for them. But it's great to have them back. They're both young hungry players. "Ben has been great. We really missed him. He was getting better and better, stronger and stronger in every game. "Flynn, in the first two games, we could see what impact he's going to have."
Flynn Downes very close to fitness but it is taking time
The good news of course is Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams is available for selection as is Michael Obafemi a deadline signing from Southampton on a permanent deal. With another international break in early October the swans will be looking to pick up points in the next two games and get all of their squad back to full fitness. Martin is confident though, " Now it's about getting the guys conditioned to how we want to play, getting them fitter over this period of time," concluded Martin. "The fitter we become, the easier it will be to play the way we want to play. They understand that process, they're really up for it. "We're really enthused by being able to get on the training pitch and do some work with the guys. It's been a tough period of so many games so we need to maximise the amount of time we have now."
Swansea City take on Hull City at the Swansea.Com stadium on Saturday with a 3pm kick off.