Swansea City boss Russell Martin has played down concerns over Korey Smith's fitness but is nevertheless facing something of a selection headache ahead of the visit of the Championship leaders Fulham on Tuesday.
Smith was seen receiving treatment on the sidelines shortly after the full-time whistle and appeared to be heavily limping as he headed off down the tunnel, having been substituted eight minutes from time.
The 31-year-old put in a sterling shift in an unfamiliar role on the left-hand side, and was even heavily involved in a stunning opener from Jamie Paterson.
Martin was thoroughly impressed by Smith's contribution, and is hopeful that he will be fit for Tuesday night's clash as Swansea go in search of a fourth straight home win.
"He was cramping up a bit towards the end because of the demands of a different role that he hasn't played before," Martin said when quizzed on Smith's condition.
"But I think it'll be fine. I think it's just cramp."
Martin also played down concerns over goalkeeper Andy Fisher, who seemed to be struggling with a niggle of his own late on.
"Fisher felt something when he dived and he irritated it when he kicked it but he'll be fine for Tuesday," the head coach added.
But Smith's fitness could well be crucial ahead of what promises to be a stern test against Marco Silva's men, with Hannes Wolf already ruled out after testing positive for Covid ahead of Saturday's win.
"I haven't heard much about Covid recently. I thought that was done," Martin continued.
"Unfortunately his girlfriend has tested positive and he has too.
"He's not feeling too rough. He's vaccinated as much as he can be. It's one of those things unfortunately for him as he was starting to get into a rhythm after not playing.
"But he'll be back well in advance of Blackpool. Just Tuesday will probably be a bit too early for him."
There are problems for Martin on the right too, with Cyrus Christie unable to play against the Cottagers due to the terms of his loan deal, while Nathanael Ogbeta is still a couple of weeks away from contention.
"Cyrus can't play on Tuesday," Martin added. "But we have people desperate to be on the pitch and desperate to play.
"Joel Latibeaudiere came on and finished the game really well for us.
"Cyrus will be a miss for us there's no doubt. Hannes will be a miss too. It's a shame, but it seems to be the story of the season that he gets into a real rhythm and gets disrupted a little bit.
"Someone has the take the opportunity, and it's a big opportunity.
"With the two results we've had, there will be no expectations outside this building to go and get a result against Fulham because of the form they're in, the team they are and the quality they possess.
"But it's a brilliant opportunity for the guys to really show where they're at and how good they can be.
"I loved our performance there earlier on in the season. I didn't love the result.
"I was probably more happy with the performance than I am today, but if we can replicate that and play with that intensity, we'll have a real chance of hopefully surprising a few people."
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