Shanghai Shenhua in Dalian in preparation for the game came the good news: the core of the midfield Peng Xinli has been transferred from the hotel gym to the stadium, began to follow the rehabilitator for jogging and other recovery training.
In the 4th round of the Chinese Super League, Shenhua's match against Hebei, Peng Xinli and goalkeeper Zeng Cheng suffered injuries: Peng Xinli suffered a fracture of the right distal fibula, while Zeng Cheng suffered two rib fractures and a mild pneumothorax. This is undoubtedly a major blow to Shenhua, and the absence of the two main players will have a profound impact on the team's overall strength. Shenhua had a three-week closed-door training program in Dalian, with Zeng Cheng and Peng Xinli accompanying the team. Last week, Zeng Cheng has appeared on the pitch, began jogging and center strength training, and followed the rehabilitation division to carry out simple exercises with the ball. It is reported that Zeng Cheng, who suffered a rib fracture, is recovering well, but at this stage he is not yet able to carry out high-intensity confrontation and tackling training. Meanwhile, Peng Xinli could only train alone in the hotel gym last week. But from Monday, with the approval of the team's medical team, he also came to the stadium to train with the team. Despite their positive recovery, the chances of both of them making a comeback before September in time for the remaining nine rounds of the first phase of the league are slim due to the severity of their injuries. News coming out so far indicates that the Chinese Super League is expected to restart around July 18th. In order to leave enough time for the national soccer team to prepare for the World Preliminary 12, the Super League will end in mid-August, so teams will have to complete nine rounds of league matches in just one month. It is expected that this phase of the schedule will be unusually intensive, with a match played almost every three days. In light of this, head coach Choi Kang-hee stepped up his team's physical training last week. It is reported that Shenhua practiced twice a day, at least one set of high-intensity running every day. Cui Kangxi hopes to lay a solid physical foundation for the team during the Dalian training period to cope with the upcoming intensive schedule. Soon, Qingdao, led by Wu Jingui, will also arrive in Dalian for preparatory training. Shenhua will play a warm-up match with Qingdao to test the results of the training and help the players gradually adapt to the rhythm of the game.
