Swansea City will assess Renato Sanches’ fitness before Tuesday’s Premier League clash with Arsenal after the midfielder picked up a hamstring injury in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Notts County.
The Portugal international was taken off after 32 minutes of the fourth round clash on Saturday after he pulled up injured in a Swansea counter-attack. Sanches, 20, suffered the same injury in the goalless third-round draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“He will be assessed after 48 hours,” manager Carlos Carvalhal told the club’s website. “Then, we will know exactly what the problem is with him.”
Sanches, who joined the Swans on loan from German side Bayern Munich in the close season, has struggled for form and fitness this season, making 12 league appearances and four more starts in domestic cup competitions.
Carvalhal refused to be too down-hearted at the prospect of another replay as he extended his record in charge to one defeat in seven matches.
“We have a squad that is ready and other players can play games so I don’t think this is a negative.
“I don’t agree that it’s bad because I changed eight players. Maybe if we were playing the next games with the same 11 players then yes but I will move eight or nine players again.
“I don’t feel it is a negative, it’s not a problem. That is how we will be in this competition, playing the players who were not involved in the previous game.
“In this competition we are not losing and we still have the chance to go through.
“If we don’t get through and achieve the next stage then it is not the end of the world because our main competition is the Premier League, this is very clear. But this competition is good because we have all the players involved.”
Notts county manager Kevin Nolan said: “I’m absolutely delighted, I thought the boys were fantastic. The lads’ work-rate was brilliant, and the togetherness, and the communication – we were magnificent. They showed real character.
“This is why you work so hard and put in the hours that you do, for moments like this.”
