It is the last thing the club or its supporters would want, as they prepare for the new season, which is not far away.
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Fulham supporters have every reason to be worried after watching their key midfielder Joao Palhinha suffer a potentially serious injury. It is not entirely clear but could very well be a dislocated shoulder, which might leave the Portuguese player on the sidelines for a good number of weeks. It is the last thing the club or its supporters would want, as they prepare for the new season, which is not far away.
Joao Palhinha was an important member of Fulham squad last season, as they defied odds to finish 10th in the Premier League table. Sitting at the base of the midfield, the Portuguese player was unbeatable at times. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. It’s serious, but let’s hope it’s not too serious. It’s his shoulder, probably dislocated. Tomorrow he’s going to do a scan and it will be more clear for me to update you on the situation. Let’s hope it’s not another long-term injury for us,” manager Marco Silva was quoted as saying by the club’s official website.
Palhinha had suffered the injury during Fulham’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Brentford in their opening match of the Premier League Summer Series. There are also questions being raised over the availability of another important player of Fulham – Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian centre-forward is rumoured with a move to Saudi Arabia. “I spoke with the board – no updates about Mitrovic,” Silva said.
“A player that is not training, and is not in the picture with his team-mates, is not going to play. It’s easy for me to decide. If he trains with his team-mates, he’s going to play matches. If he’s not training with his teammates, he’s not going to play. Of course, if Mitrovic is my player I would like him to train, to be involved in all the moments with the team. You know that, that I would like to have him participating in all the moments with the team.”
Meanwhile, the Fulham manager was happy with the way his side played against Brentford. “It was good, a really competitive match. I think the fans enjoyed it. It’s important for the players to get minutes in their legs to help them perform. Of course, it was very, very hot, difficult for both teams. It’s not easy to play here with this temperature, but it was the same for both teams,” he added.
“I saw good things, great goals, the first two goals were great goals. The way we started the first half was really good, really good. We expected strong pressure from a good Brentford side. The way we played through the pressure, we tried to beat the pressure every time, with enough courage to do it. I’m pleased with some of the things that I saw, there are things to improve, as always, and we have to keep going.”
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