Struck down by a meniscus injury, the Guinean centre-back Saïdou Sow, on loan from RC Strasbourg to FC Nantes, is out at least until the international break. A blow for a club 15th in Ligue 2 and without a win since 19 September.
FC Nantes will have to do without one of their defenders. Saïdou Sow, 24, a Guinean international centre-back on loan from RC Strasbourg, is suffering from a meniscus injury and will be out at least until the November international break, reports Ouest-France via OneFootball.
The news is official. It deprives the club of a centre-back at a time when they have not won since 19 September.
Pain inside the first quarter of an hour
It all came to a head in the draw against Clermont (1-1) on 30 October. According to OneFootball and OnzeMondial, Saïdou Sow felt sharp pain in his knee and left his teammates inside the first quarter of an hour of the match. Further tests were carried out on Wednesday 4 November.
No precise timescale has been given: the absence is set at least until the international break, and a return after it is for now only hoped for.
736 minutes in ten matches
The scale of the blow can be measured by his playing time. On loan from RC Strasbourg, the defender has racked up 736 minutes in ten matches, the fourth-highest total at the club, according to Peuple-Vert. He is therefore among the most used players in the squad.
His withdrawal comes as Nantes sit 15th in Ligue 2 with nine points and have not won since 19 September, the date of a 2-1 victory over Boulogne-sur-Mer, according to OnzeMondial.
The player himself acknowledged the team’s difficulties: “We are all aware that we have to do better. We are doing everything with the staff to climb back up quickly,” he told Peuple-Vert and OneFootball. His comments concern the team’s results, not his injury.
The international break as the target
The calendar offers a short breather. Nantes will play their next Ligue 2 match after the November international break, and a return for the defender is hoped for at that point. No firm date has been given for now.
The case does not say whether this spell on the sidelines will cost him matches with Guinea. What is certain is that head coach Grégory Poirier will have to do without him.