Marcos Delgado said : ”Agustin has gone to a private doctor, who did an MRI and told him he had one and a half months to go,” Delgado told PA International.
This would mean a return at the start of August for Agustin. Of course no one bothered to inform the club of Delgado's mysterious new knee injury. We only have the say so of his doctor, who he's probably very chummy with having spent so long back in Ecuador, that he is injured at all. Why not let the club decide for itself by bringing Agustin over here for rehabilitation.
Marcos doesn't seem to understand that the club have spent a considerable sum on his brother and pay his wages, although they will hopefully be suspended. Marcos said: ”Of course he wants to go back but he does not want to return injured. He prefers to recover in Ecuador but the club don't accept that and want him to return."
”My brother plays for Southampton but his body, his feelings, his life are his and not the club's.”
Clearly Delgado is not too keen to return to Southampton. He doesn't speak the language, feels he has no support from the club which is partly true and obviously would prefer to stay at home as long as possible before being forced to return.
Of course he's just making the situation worse. There is no way Strachan is going to pick him in the first eleven, over more committed players, and a long season in the reserves beckons. This is just going to upset Delgado more and the saga will continue.
On the validity of Agustin's injury his brother pointed the finger at the Ecuadorian FA saying. ”He was not able to finish that rehabilitation and after the World Cup he was injured.
”The Ecuadorian Football Federation should have sent a medical certificate to the club regarding this matter.”
Marcos added ”It is obvious that he can't train with others at the club,” although no one at the club has actually seen him to verify the extent of the injury.
Marcos finished by saying: ”I hope they can understand and excuse the situation, but my brother wants to return healthy.”
I think I can safely say that very few will understand the situation and many are already calling for him to be transferred as soon as possible.
While I'm wondering why no one at the club bothered to phone Agustin after the World Cup to congratulate him on his performances, I'm also wondering what the players rights are regarding the choice of treatment they pursue to regain full fitness.
If it were up to many Premiership managers their squads would play on riddled with the puncture marks of pain killing injections regardless of the long term implications. Strachan has indicated he likes that level of commitment.
So while there's a chance of a fully fit Delgado returning for next season, the politics now involved would suggest that there will be nothing but problems ahead.
The final word on this goes to the club site which made their views very clear:-
"The ball is now firmly in Delgado's court to provide a valid explanation for going AWOL as club staff have already wasted far too many man hours chasing him and bending over backwards to try to accommodate him."