Renato Sanches due back at Swansea City and could feature in run-in

Renato Sanches is expected to return to Swansea City next week and could feature in the run-in once he recovers from a hamstring injury, manager Carlos Carvalhal has said.

Sanches left Swansea in February to rehabilitate the injury at parent club Bayern Munich but has yet to return to Wales or pass fit.

Carvalhal said last week that Sanches was expected to return this week, but he said on Thursday that he had since been told by Bayern that the midfielder needed a final scan before he was cleared to travel.

“It is not in our hands,” Carvalhal said a news conference. “It is in the doctors’ hands at Bayern Munich. We know the information we are being given but we need to wait.

“He will be ready to train when he comes back. I cannot do anything. I [also] have to wait. He is injured. What can we do? He cannot come and train like this.”

Sanches, 20, moved from Benfica to Bayern following a breakthrough performance for winners Portugal at Euro 2016 in which he won the Golden Boy award and was voted best young player.

Injuries and a dip in form rendered him mostly ineffective during his first season at Bayern, and former manager Paul Clement, who was an assistant coach for the Bundesliga champions, secured Sanches on a year-long loan at his new club in August.

But Sanches has made only 12 Premier League appearances for Swansea as he has continued to battle injuries, and his last appearance for the club was during the fourth-round FA Cup draw against Notts County on Jan. 27.

Clement, sacked on Dec. 20 and appointed at reading on March 23, told The Times in February that he expressed regret about the situation because Sanches’ physical condition and confidence were down after the season at Bayern.

Swansea, four points clear of the relegation zone, could benefit from the addition of a fit Sanches at some point in the final five games, and Carvalhal said that the midfielder “can be involved” once he is able to return.

“Of course, he wants to come back,” Carvalhal said. “He wants to play and be training and be happy. He is ready to come to Swansea. He said he was sad earlier this week when he could not come back to Swansea.”

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