Sidelined All Whites star Sarpreet Singh has left no stone unturned as he tries to get to the bottom of an ongoing pelvic issue.
The Bayern Munich playmaker was not considered for the All Whites’ centenary matches against Australia in Brisbane and Auckland next week, joining Ryan Thomas, Clayton Lewis, Tommy Smith, Niko Kirwan and Francis de Vries on a lengthy injury list.
Singh has not played any football since the start of April due to his ongoing struggles with osteitis pubis, an injury that ruled him out of New Zealand’s World Cup qualifying campaign and cost him a move to Werder Bremen.
But the 23-year-old has finally started seeing progress, posting on social media that he had resumed training with second-tier side SSV Jahn Regensburg, where he has returned on loan after inking a new one-year extension with Bayern.
READ MORE:
* All Whites star concedes penalty in Serie A match against Jose Mourinho’s Roma
* All Whites can ‘bury demons’ against Australia, but what’s next after that remains unclear
* Natalie Lawrence replaces Gemma Lewis as Wellington Phoenix A-League Women coach
Although Singh was unable to make it back to full fitness in time to be considered for the series against the Socceroos, All Whites coach Danny Hay said the signs were looking promising for the Wellington Phoenix product, who is an automatic starter for New Zealand when fit.
“I spoke to Sarpreet probably 10 days ago now and it’s really good that he’s slowly but surely getting back to full fitness,” Hay said.
Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
Sarpreet Singh was not considered for the All Whites squad to play Australia due to a long-running injury.
“I know he’s taken his time and he hasn’t rushed it. It’s good that he’s signed a contract extension with Bayern Munich because that gives him a little bit of time and comfort.
“But I think he’s so much more aware of his body now and some of the stuff that he’s gone through to try and find and where the problem originated from is quite incredible.”
Hay provided an insight into the lengths Singh had gone to get to the bottom of his injury woes, commenting that he had been put “through the wringer” over the past five months as he tried all sorts of methods to get himself fit again.
“I don’t think he’d mind me sharing but things like getting his wisdom teeth taken out because they thought poison might be coming down and causing issues, and stuff around his gut and medicating to solve the problem there.
“He’s been through the wringer but it’s good to see that slowly but surely [he is making progress], but it is a fingers crossed sort of moment that he can get back to playing regular football.
“Hopefully we see him in an All Whites shirt sooner rather than later because he’s such a talent and such an important part of this young group of All Whites moving forward.”
Discussion about this post