ISL 2017/18: Kerala Blasters' head coach David James tight-lipped about Dimitar Berbatov's return from injury

What’s the story?

Ahead of Kerala Blasters’ home game against Delhi Dynamos, their head coach David James gave an update on Dimitar Berbatov’s injury. However, if James’s words are anything to go by, the Kerala fans might have to wait a little longer to see the marquee star in action.

In case you didn’t know...

Berbatov had suffered a muscle injury during Blasters’ away trip to FC Goa. He had to leave the pitch in the opening minutes of the game which was won by FC Goa as they had hammered in five goals and conceded two in return.

The heart of the matter

Speaking to the media ahead of the encounter against Delhi, James said that former Manchester United striker had resumed training but didn’t reveal whether he would be in action during Saturday’s game or not.

“In the case of Berbs (Berbatov), he was out on the grass training with the football today,” James informed. “With the plan of winning all the six remaining games, I need all my players to be available now for the entire 90 minutes. What I did not want was putting Berbs in a position where I was going to rush him into playing games and possibly breaking down again. So, everyone is delighted with the way he is progressing. But whether or not he will be ready for the match, you’ll have to wait for the team news.”

What’s next?

It seems that James is very sure about what he is doing and for that reason, he wants to give Berbatov enough time to recover.

Author’s take

Berbatov is on the wrong side of 30 and it is a good decision to not force him to play at this moment. He needs to fully recover from the muscle injury so that he is able to give his best in the rest of the games in the tournament.