USMNT’s Antonee Robinson hopeful of making return from knee injury against Burnley on Saturday
Antonee Robinson is hopeful of making his return to Fulham’s Premier League squad on Saturday against Burnley after two and a half months out injured with a knee problem that left him concerned about his World Cup prospects.
The USMNT and Fulham defender underwent surgery in the summer in an attempt to fix the issue, but has only made three appearances for the London club this season, with severe pain undermining his efforts to get match-fit.
His last outing for Fulham was a 10-minute cameo against Aston Villa in September, and he has since missed nine league games and not made it onto the pitch in two international camps for Mauricio Pochettino’s squad as they build for next summer’s World Cup.
Last month The Athletic revealed the 28-year-old had begun to fear the complex injury would ruin this season, and perhaps even his hopes of being available for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June.
But after deciding against more surgery and working with a specialist physiotherapist, he has been able to train without pain and sources briefed on the situation are anticipating that Fulham boss Marco Silva is likely to include the left-back in his squad for the game at Turf Moor at 5:30pm (GMT, 12:30pm ET) on Saturday.
Fulham have been approached for comment.
It would be a timely lift for Fulham, with Ryan Sessegnon, the player who has deputized in Robinson’s absence, missing last weekend’s game against Crystal Palace through injury.
“He (Robinson) is training with the team, he is progressing well, he is doing well,” Silva told Fulham’s website on Thursday. “Now is a matter of time when we are going to decide for him to be in contention or not.
“We have another session tomorrow, we are going to see, but last week was a good week for him in terms of individual work, and step by step to adjust things and to be with the team.
“This week he has been with the team as well. Another session tomorrow, let’s see how he’s going to react to a complete week, and after we are going to take a decision on him.”
