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da brdice： As reported by The Evening Standard, Crystal Palace centre-back Mamadou Sakho is closing in on a return to first-team action after returning to training with his teammates.
The France international required surgery on a knee issue sustained towards the end of last term, and despite appearing against AFC Wimbledon in pre-season, a setback hindered his return.
Meanwhile, his partner at the back from last season in James Tomkins continues to train alone whilst working on his own comeback, but that shouldn’t be too far away which will be music to the ears of the south Londoners.
Bad news for Scott Dann
If Scott Dann was already fearful over his first-team place following the summer arrival of Gary Cahill, then he will not welcome the news that Sakho and Tomkins are nearing a return to first-team action.
The former Blackburn man started the season opener against Everton alongside Martin Kelly, with the same pairing taking to the pitch against Sheffield United the following week, but Dann was dropped for the win at Old Trafford with Cahill taking his place.
If he is already struggling to get into the eleven with just one figure ahead of him in the pecking order, one would assume that his chances of game time will only be harmed more when Sakho and Tomkins come back into contention.
Is that fair?
The 32-year-old can have no complaints
Sakho and Tomkins are two of the Eagles’ most important players and helped keep an impressive 12 clean sheets in the Premier League last term – the sixth-best defensive record in the Premier League.
If the pair of them are fit and ready for selection, along with Cahill who impressed against United on his debut, then Dann can’t really argue his case for a place in the eleven given the quality of those ahead of him.
He will simply have to bide his time, but with the south Londoners already out of the Carabao Cup, his chances of game time look even more doubtful – this fitness update won’t be what the Englishman will want to hear.
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