“The lion will return.”
That’s how confident Mamadou Sakho is about making a full recovery from a meniscus injury suffered in a 4-1 win against Leicester City back in February.
Currently in Dubai undergoing physiotherapy, the Crystal Palace defender believes he should be fully fit by mid-June, meaning he will be ready for the preseason with the Eagles from July onwards.
Speaking to Téléfoot in France from the medical centre, Sakho made it clear a transfer wasn’t particularly on his mind, even if his ambitions could take him elsewhere should the right opportunity come along.
He said: “I’m enjoying myself in London. Everything is going well, but like I’ve always said, in life you don’t know what tomorrow is made of.”
Making just four appearances in Europe’s elite competition, the last of which came in 2014 with Liverpool, it’s understandable that, at 29 years of age, a France international like Sakho would want to play at the top level.
Few would hold it against him if he tried to further his career in the summer, even if that seems unlikely since he’ll have just returned from a rather severe injury.
Perhaps another full season at Selhurst Park (during which he can show Didier Deschamps why he should be included in France’s squad for the 2020 Euros) might be best for now, before potentially searching for greener pastures with just one year left on his contract (expiring in 2021).
