Another Boost For Martinez As Allen Returns

Roberto Martinez has received another midfield boost with the news that Joe Allen has made a rapid recovery from his thigh strain and could be in action at Derby County tomorrow night.

Darren Pratley made a surprise return to the substitutes bench on Saturday against Charlton Athletic and came on as a 90th minute replacement for Guillem Bauza.

He returned 6 weeks earlier than expected while Allen was expected to be sidelined for 3-4 weeks, instead he returns after just 7 days, missing games against Fulham and Charlton.

It's a massive boost for the Swans as we have been looking thin in centre midfield, as striker Guillem Bauza came in as Allen's replacement for the last 2 games.

Both Pratley and Allen are likely to be on the bench tomorrow at Pride Park rather than featuring in the starting line-up, but we all know they will vastly improve our options from the bench.

It was evident on Saturday that we were lacking something in midfield, as we struggled to regain the lead after Bailey equalised on 55 minutes.

Butler struggled to make any impact after replacing Gower midway through the second half while Pratley showed glimpses of what we've been missing since he suffered his shoulder injury in January.

Martinez was obviously delighted to see Allen back, he told the Official Site:

'It's great news,'

'Luckily, because Joe is so young, it has obviously helped speed up the healing process.'

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