Burkina Faso international Bertrand Traoré’s return to action has been delayed, with the Burkina Faso international facing a longer spell on the sidelines than initially anticipated.
The Sunderland winger picked up a knee injury while representing his country at the Africa Cup of Nations and returned to England with hopes of a swift recovery. Earlier indications suggested he would be available again this week, but further medical assessments have revealed that the problem is more serious than first thought.
As a result, Traoré will not rejoin his Sunderland teammates for at least another two weeks and is now expected to remain unavailable until the end of February. The update was confirmed by head coach Régis Le Bris, who stressed that the club is taking a cautious approach to protect the player’s long-term health.
Speaking on the situation, Le Bris explained that the injury may have been worsened during international duty. “Bertrand suffered a significant knee injury and, as far as I know, he played the second half of the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match with his national team. That may have aggravated the issue,” the Sunderland boss revealed.
He added that once Traoré returned to the club, the medical verdict was clear. “The diagnosis showed that he needed proper rest and careful treatment if he was to stay fit for the remainder of the season and, more importantly, for the rest of his career. We didn’t want to rush anything. Our priority was to make sure he received the right care so that when he comes back, he is fully ready to play again.”
The extended recovery means Sunderland will continue without one of their key attacking options for the coming weeks, but the club remains confident that a patient rehabilitation process will allow Traoré to return stronger and avoid further complications down the line.
