Mousa welcomes Sandro return

Mousa Dembele has welcomed the return to action of midfield comrade Sandro.

The popular Brazilian international is back in the fold after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, and played his part in consecutive home wins last week.

He started our Europa League round of 32 second leg victory against FC Dnipro – his first appearance since suffering a hamstring problem against Liverpool on December 15 – before stepping off the bench to shore things up in the latter stages of Sunday’s Premier League triumph against Cardiff.

Central midfield colleague Mousa , who played 90 minutes in both games, is delighted to see Sandro back in the picture – and feels the availability of the tough-tackling fans’ favourite is “very important” as we enter a decisive month of games.

“I think he’s done very well,” Mousa said, reflecting on Sandro’s arduous road back to fitness. “He was out for a long time and I’m happy for him – he’s shown everyone this week that he’s back.

“We need all our players back and fit to push everyone to play better – including myself. It’s a tough month ahead.”