The striker was taken off on a stretcher during the draw with Stockport County last weekend
Brian Barry-Murphy has urged patience over the return of Yousef Salech, insisting Cardiff City will not rush the striker back after what he described as a “traumatic event”.
Salech missed Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over Barnsley after he was taken off on a stretcher in the draw with Stockport County last Saturday following his collision with defender Brad Hills.
He is set to remain sidelined again this weekend, with Barry-Murphy confirming there are no expected changes to the squad that impressed in the win over the Tykes.
Providing an update on the forward’s condition, the Cardiff boss said Salech, who was discharged from hospital on Saturday night, is making steady progress but stressed the importance of taking a cautious, step-by-step approach.
“He’s improving daily and hopefully I’ll see him for the first time today,” Barry-Murphy said. “Hopefully he’ll get through training today.
“Our message to him and to our supporters is that we’re going to be really considerate of what he needs, be really patient and take it step by step so that after such a serious injury he’s in a really good place when he comes back.”
Barry-Murphy also revealed the club’s medical staff are closely monitoring Salech’s recovery, highlighting the unusual nature of the setback compared to standard football injuries.
“The doctors here have been amazing,” he added. “Initially it was Will (Redmond) and now Nick (Roach). They’ve said we’ve seen real progress over the last few days, which is a really good sign.
“But we do still have to understand it was a pretty traumatic event and not a normal type of injury you see week to week.
“We have to make sure we’re patient with him and not rush him back in desperation.”
Barry-Murphy started Omari Kellyman in Salech’s absence on Tuesday evening and the Chelsea loanee flourished as a No.9.
The 20-year-old scored an excellent goal and impressed with his intense pressing, leading from the front.
“I see Omari as a very capable centre-forward,” Barry-Murphy said ahead of the game against Burton on Saturday.
“I’ve seen him play there many times. It was a straightforward decision.”
The decision meant Callum Robinson had to settle for a place on the bench, and so, too, did Isaak Davies.
Davies has perhaps not had the opportunities he might have liked this season, starting just eight times in the league this term. However Barry-Murphy insists the Wales international has a huge part to play in the club’s future.
“I’ve been very happy with what Isaak has done for us. He’s helped the club enormously by playing wide when we needed him, especially with Ollie Tanner injured, Chris Willock injured and Cian Ashford unavailable,” the Bluebirds boss added.
“As a result, he’s probably suffered from a lack of minutes in the central position where he wants to play. That’s also been due to the form of Yousef and Callum.
“You saw on Tuesday how sharp he looked when he came on. There’s a bigger picture here where we see him being a huge part of Cardiff City’s future. The frustration he feels now is being channelled in the right way.”
—
*Sign up to our daily Bluebirds newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here. Cardiff City correspondent Glen Williams is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here, on Instagram, on TikTok and on Facebook.
