Strasbourg: Emegha faces a tough test

Back after a long absence, Emanuel Emegha will need to step up quickly. The Strasbourg striker will be tasked with making up for the absence of Joaquin Panichelli, as well as silencing the critics following the announcement of his transfer.

Emanuel Emegha is back. Four months after tearing his thigh muscle, the 23-year-old striker resumed team training with Strasbourg on Monday.

The Dutchman is thus meeting the deadline set by his manager Gary O’Neil, who had announced his return for Saturday’s home game against Nice (5pm).

Emegha must replace Panichelli

The man who wore the captain’s armband under Liam Rosenior will be able to savour his reunion with a crowd eager to see him back, and who are surely waiting to see how he performs. The Meinau crowd can only lament the serious injury to their favourite, Joaquin Panichelli, who suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in his knee whilst on international duty with Argentina. With his season over, Emegha will have to replace the current Ligue 1 top scorer (16 goals), whose popularity stems not only from his effectiveness.

The former Alavés player has also won over the fans with his relentless running, which stands in stark contrast to the nonchalance for which Emegha is sometimes criticised. Although L’Equipe describes him as ‘in top form’ for his return, we shouldn’t expect to see him emulating Panichelli just yet. But there’s no guarantee that the Alsatian crowd will be patient with the future Chelsea striker. At the start of the season, the official announcement of his departure, accompanied by a photo of him in the Blues’ shirt, sparked controversy and raised questions about the captain’s commitment.

Goals to achieve

Suffice to say that Emegha will be under pressure, though he possesses the ego and personality to handle this sort of situation. The Dutch international will be keen to show that his mind isn’t on London, not to mention his goal of playing in the 2026 World Cup. Any reward will depend on a very strong finish to the season in the race for European places in Ligue 1, as well as in the Coupe de France and the Europa Conference League, where Strasbourg are dreaming of a trophy.