Following the news that Ismaila Sarr has been forced to drop out of the Senegal squad through injury, it could be eight weeks before he returns to full Crystal Palace training.
Sarr more important than ever at Crystal Palace
Whilst Jean-Philippe Mateta has been destroying corner flags all around the Premier League, Sarr has quietly become an important player for Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace. Alongside the star striker, Sarr has proved to be an excellent addition and, after a slow start last season, found his stride and hasn't looked back since.
Oliver Glasner no longer has Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise to call on. The former joined Arsenal this summer in a dream move and the latter has, of course, been starring at Bayern Munich since leaving last year. So, naturally, the responsibility has fallen the way of the likes of Sarr to step up alongside Mateta, especially as new signing Yeremy Pino settles in.
You wouldn't know that there's any extra pressure on the former Watford winger, however. He has stepped up with ease, scoring twice in three Premier League games to follow up his effort in the Community Shield victory against Liverpool.
Glasner is well aware of his quality too, having told reporters last season: "He’s different. We knew that we couldn’t replace Michael one-for-one, because he’s got his own profile and his own qualities.
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Oliver Glasner lifts the FA Cup.
“Ismaila is more of a direct runner with a lot of pace. We knew if we get him into the right areas in the right moment he will get chances to score goals."
The manager's earlier praise will only make the news of Sarr's injury all the more frustrating and Chat GPT has now delivered a damning verdict as to when Palace fans can expect their winger to return.
When Sarr could make Crystal Palace return
Amid reports that he has suffered a grade two hamstring tear, the AI tool revealed that Sarr is likely to make his Crystal Palace return in four to eight weeks. In the best case scenario, the severity of the grade two injury will not be disastrous enough to rule him out for two months, but Sarr's explosive sprinting may well mean that Palace take their time with this one.
Indeed, Sarr can only return to training after such an injury when several recovery factors have been ticked off. Palace must ensure that full strength and flexibility has returned to his hamstring, there's no altered running gait or imbalance and that he is able to participate in full training, which could take six to eight weeks.
They must also consider the re-injury risk. According to AI, this is at its highest in the first two months after recovery and can be reduced by Nordic hamstring/ exercises.
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Ismaila Sarr
If Sarr misses just one month of action, then he is likely to be sidelined for games against Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Liverpool before potentially returning against Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa Conference League.
Meanwhile, a two-month absence will see him miss that Europa Conference League tie as well as games against Everton, Bournemouth, AEK Larnaca, Arsenal and Brentford.