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Swansea: Joe Rodon could yet win fitness race for Brentford clash
Swansea are waiting on the fitness of defender Joe Rodon ahead of tonight’s Championship clash at home to Brentford.
Sky Sports reported that Swans manager Steve Cooper is hopeful that the 22-year-old will have shaken off the ankle injury which brought a premature end to his involvement in the 1-1 draw at Barnsley on Saturday.
According to Sky Sports, the Wales centre-back’s place will be taken by either Ben Wilmot or Ben Cabango if he isn’t fit enough to feature at the Liberty Stadium tonight, while winger Aldo Kalulu is set to miss at least another two weeks with an ankle problem.
Along with centre-back partner Mike van der Hoorn, Rodon had been ever-present in the Championship this term until his enforced substitution at Oakwell on Saturday.
He has proven to be an effective ball-winner for Swansea, with his match averages of 2.5 successful aerial duels and 1.4 interceptions the second-highest in the squad for both metrics. [via WhoScored]
Also, he has made more clearances per game (4.8) than anyone else in Cooper’s squad, yet he is composed in possession with an 84.4% passing accuracy rate that is second only to Matt Grimes, and the third-highest passes per game average with 56.1. [via WhoScored]
If Rodon doesn’t win his race to be fit for tonight, Wilmot will likely come into the team at centre-back. The Watford loanee came on for the Wales defender at Oakwell and has been in the matchday squad for all but two Championship games, whereas Cabango has yet to feature in the league and has only been in the matchday squad for one league game.
Wilmot managed to win his only tackle and aerial duel in the weekend draw at Barnsley, but he still misplaced five of his 14 passes to leave an accuracy ratio of just 64.3%. [via WhoScored]
Even though Brentford have not carried much of a scoring threat this season (only four teams have scored fewer than their 12 Championship goals), Rodon’s absence from the Swansea line-up would deprive Cooper of one of his most solid players, given the 22-year-old’s impressive statistics.
If Wilmot is needed to be called upon from the start, he will have considerable shoes to fill and must improve the accuracy of his ball distribution.
Swansea fans, how big a loss would Rodon be if he isn’t fit for the Brentford game? Do you think Wilmot would be a capable centre-back deputy? Join in the discussion by commenting below!
