Marco Silva was gutted to lose the services of Neeskens Kebano, after it was announced that the winger had suffered a ruptured Achilles in training this week.
A popular member of the group, Kebano has been playing the best football of his career under Silva, who will be giving his full support to our number seven as he undergoes his rehabilitation.
“Sad, sad news for us as a football club, for us as a group, and personally for me as a manager,” Silva said. “Top, top guy, top lad, great professional, and a happy guy.
“He’s a strong character inside our dressing room, everyone loves him in this football club. I’ve been really pleased to have him these last 15 months under me.
“Now we have just one way to deal with the situation: support him as much as we can in everything to make him feel better again and feel happy again.
“I know that Neeskens is happy when he is in our dressing room and on the pitch as well, and this is the main thing for us. Apart from that, in terms of football and our team, of course we are stronger with him.
“Now we don't have him, it’s a moment for some of the others to pop up because I think it was enjoyable to see how Neeskens performed since I joined this football club last season.
“When everyone was saying that probably nothing more will come from Neeskens, last season he proved himself. Then, the beginning of this season, everyone was saying, ‘okay, Premier League is too much for him,’ but the reality was that he started the season so well and he kept showing his quality. I was really pleased for that.
“Now I have to support him in every way I can, as much as I can, to make him feel better again and happy, and back on the pitch after some months.”
In addition to Kebano, Bobby De Cordova-Reid will also miss Saturday’s trip to Manchester City having picked up his fifth booking of the season against Everton last weekend.
Layvin Kurzawa has returned to training, though, while Silva also revealed that we could see Manor Solomon back in action in January.
