Sadiq Umar has not kicked a ball for Real Sociedad since September because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and his return may be delayed further
Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil has revealed that Super Eagles striker Sadiq Umar will not play for the club this season as he is yet to fully recover from the anterior cruciate ligament injury that he sustained in September 2022.
Soccernet.ng reports that Umar joined Real Sociedad from Almeria last summer after an impressive two-year stint that saw him register 43 goals and 19 assists in 84 games.
The 26-year-old striker had a great start to life in the Basque Country, scoring a vital goal against Atletico Madrid on his debut.
Unfortunately for him, he sustained an ACL injury in his third appearance against Getafe in September 2022. Umar missed 43 games since then. But he returned to training last week, days before Real Sociedad’s game against Barcelona.
Still, he was excluded from the matchday squad for the game. Coach Alguacil has now revealed that he wants Umar to hit his stride before he plays competitive football.
“Sadiq is very far away. We are putting him in, but he is very far away,” Alguacil told Mundo Deportivo.
“Hopefully everything goes well and he does a good job during the off season because, unfortunately, he won’t be able to stop much.
“He has to get his acts together to have a very good pre-season. We want him to evolve well so that he can be available for the start of next season.”
Umar showed glimpses of his ability in his first few games before his injury. He would need to be at his next season as Real Sociedad would likely qualify for the Champions League. Coach Alguacil would need his players to be firing at all cylinders.