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Swansea City: Aldo Kalulu not far away from return to fitness, says Steve Cooper
Swansea’s on-loan winger Aldo Kalulu is closing in on a return to full fitness, according to his manager Steve Cooper.
Wales Online reported quotes from Cooper in his press briefing ahead of the game against Cardiff on Sunday in which he indicated that the 23-year-old is “not too far away” from being available for selection.
The Swansea manager said: “Aldo is still getting closer. He’s not too far away from getting back on the grass. It’ll be great to have him back. He didn’t have a chance to establish himself. There’s a few bumps and bruises and things to sort but we’re OK.” [via Wales Online]
Kalulu, who joined on loan for the season from FC Basel in early August (as per BBC), has barely featured for Swansea due to an ankle injury sustained within a fortnight of him coming to the club.
He lasted 68 minutes on his debut against Derby before being withdrawn because of a knock and then came off injured at half-time in the mid-August win over Preston, since which he has been out of action.
Cooper recently set a targeted return date of November 2nd for the winger, according to Wales Online, and even then he could have a battle on his hands to get into the team.
Prior to the midweek defeat at Brentford, in which he came on as a half-time substitute, Bersant Celina had started eight out of nine Championship games on the left wing, where Kalulu had featured earlier in the campaign.
The Kosovo international has played two key passes per game this season, second only to Matt Grimes’ 2.1 in the Swansea squad, and has had a 79% passing accuracy rate, in addition to averaging 1.8 shots per match. [via WhoScored]
Kalulu managed just one key pass and no shots in his two appearances earlier this season and had not been particularly impressive in the game against Preston, finding a team-mate with only two of his five passes. [via WhoScored]
It would be incredibly harsh to dismiss a player’s chances of succeeding at a club after only two appearances, but with Celina being consistently selected by Cooper despite failing to score since August, Kalulu isn’t likely to walk straight back into the team once he is fit to feature.
Therefore, whenever he returns to the pitch, he will probably need to make a telling impact if he is to force his way back into Cooper’s first choice XI and claim the left wing role as his own.
Swansea fans, do you think Kalulu can bounce back from his injury to play a key role this season? Share your views in the comments section below!
