PSV lose Alassane Pléa for at least six weeks after training injury

PSV striker Alassane Pléa is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks after suffering an injury in training. According to De Telegraaf, the forward is not likely to return until after the international period in late September or early October.

The setback came shortly after Pléa had completed a long recovery from knee cartilage damage. He sustained that serious injury away to FC Twente on the second matchday of last season and spent almost a year out. Pléa finally returned as a substitute against Fortuna Sittard last week, earning praise from head coach Peter Bosz for his performance.

Bosz said the sight of Pléa on the ground had been particularly distressing given the striker’s previous year. He immediately ended the session because the players were too affected to continue. The coach was nevertheless relieved that the latest problem did not involve Pléa’s knee or prove to be another extremely serious injury. “We were all devastated,” Bosz told De Telegraaf.

PSV have not yet decided whether Pléa’s absence will prompt them to recruit another attacker. Bosz said he had not raised the possibility of signing a striker with director Earnest Stewart. Pléa joined PSV from Borussia Mönchengladbach for €3.5 million last season, but his injury problems have restricted him to only 134 minutes of Eredivisie football for the Eindhoven club.