“UD Almería Plays Cat and Mouse with El Bilal Touré’s Injury Recovery”

UD Almería continues to play cat and mouse with the physical condition of El Bilal Touré. If a few days ago he published a post on his social networks in which he implied that the Malian striker was recovering in record time and could reappear before the end of the season despite the fact that after undergoing surgery his goodbye had been anticipated, this Thursday he went up a new publication with images of the attacker and a enigmatic “tick tock”.

Pure and hard marketing strategy or incipient reality to try to condition Real Valladolid on their next visit? Rubi said just a week ago, coinciding with the game before Real Mallorca, that “90% of El Bilal will not play again this season.” The Catalan coach left a door open to hope in that same appearance: “We could hurry up and see if it reaches the day of Espanyol. She left it a bit open, but before she sure as hell didn’t.”

⏰🦅 Tic, tac ⏳ pic.twitter.com/lUdtnb6T5q

— UD Almería (@U_D_Almeria) May 25, 2023

So Luis Suárez had not seen a red card that will prevent him from being in the decisive clash against the Pucelano team, so the factors in the equation have changed and it would not be ruled out that the African attacker, who is doing his part recovering in two months a period initially established for three, end up entering the call on Sunday.

The fact that he trains with the group and touches the ball does not mean that El Bilal is ready to take the field. He lacks the logical competitive rhythm of having spent more than eight weeks in dry dock and to undergo surgery to correct the lesion that occurred in the muscles of the rectus femoris during the visit to the Sánchez Pizjuán. That would rule out the possibility of aligning him as a starter despite his needs, although perhaps he would be ready to play the final stretch of the clash if necessary.

Plan A would go through Lázaro Vinicius as a false ‘9’ with Embarba and Portillo, Puigmal or Ramazani on the sides and on the bench would be the options of Sousa and the youth players Marciano and Rachad. But in case of being summoned, seeing El Bilal on the bench could be intimidating. The Malian has excellent musculature that has accelerated his recovery, but everyone is aware that he would take many risks if he reappeared earlier than expected and could jeopardize the next preseason.

If things went wrong against Valladolid, it does seem very plausible that Facing the visit to Cornellá, the figure of El Bilal emerged as Cid Campeador to try to fasten the permanence in Catalan lands, but that already falls within the field of hypotheses.