Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin will continue with one-on-one rehabilitation training sessions with fitness coach Cristian Fernandez, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that the Frenchman has been undergoing tailored sessions with Fernandez, who has been key in getting the player back in contention for Saturday’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 22-year-old endured an interrupted pre season amid his move from Nice to St James’ Park, and suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem in the win over Tottenham Hotspur last month.
Fernandez has been key in building the winger’s fitness back up despite the club taking a safety-first approach to his recovery, and Saint-Maximin will therefore continue to work with him despite now being back in the first team picture.
OPINION
This seems like a great decision on Newcastle’s part. Saint-Maximin is an explosive player, a speedy wideman who will be relied upon to create and finish chances for the Magpies this campaign. However, with that style of play comes an increased risk of injuries, particularly hamstring ones. It makes sense, then, to continue to put him on his own special programme, even with him being back in contention for Saturday’s clash with the Seagulls. He needs to be monitored closely to ensure that he doesn’t suffer a recurrence of the problem that flared back up against Spurs. Saint-Maximin was clearly rushed back too early for that game, before he had fully recovered, and Steve Bruce paid the price for that. Hopefully he only makes the bench for Saturday’s game, if he does make the squad, and that Bruce doesn’t repeat the same mistake he made last month. It certainly seems as if he is trying to avoid that this time round.
