Umar Sadiq trains with the group as his Valencia return nears

Umar Sadiq, of Valencia, takes part in the first part of group training this Thursday, his first time working with the collective since he injured his right hamstring on Sept. 30 against Deportivo at Riazor. After that, he continued with solo work on the pitch at Paterna’s training ground.

Under Javier Aguirre, Sadiq was the main talking point. The club’s expectation is that he could return at the end of this month, though his progress will determine the next steps.

The session also featured José Copete, who trained normally and will return to a squad selection eight months after his injury. The rest of the squad worked normally except Diego López, Sergi Canós and Dimitri Foulquier: the French full-back is on a specific plan due to ongoing knee problems and has not played since Feb. 1, though Valencia say his return could be close.

Valencia will train again this Friday before hosting Villarreal on Saturday at Mestalla for LaLiga’s 10th matchday. Aguirre is looking for his first home win after drawing his first two games—2-2 versus Racing and 0-0 against Athletic.