Argyle face month‑long blow as Baidoo’s hamstring setback returns

Michael Baidoo returned last week after being injured in Plymouth Argyle's final pre‑season friendly in August. He will be out for a month following a setback in his return from a hamstring injury. The 27‑year‑old Ghana international has re‑injured the same hamstring he had surgery on in August, with the problem discovered after the FA Cup win over Alvechurch last week.

Hamstring setback and recent form

Baidoo scored against the non‑league side in his first appearance for the Pilgrims since May 2025, having spent last season on loan at Qatari side Umm Salal after Argyle's relegation from the Championship. He was Argyle's record signing when he joined for more than £1 million in January 2025 from Swedish club Elfsborg. He joins a group of senior players out, including captain Joe Edwards and defender Julio Pleguezuelo, who will miss the next month, and striker Bim Pepple, who is out for two games, all with muscular injuries.

"You see the hurting in his eyes and it's the side of football that is tough, I've been there," Cleeverley said of Baidoo's injury. "No‑one's more important than another one, they're people, but because we've not seen Michael and everyone was so excited around him, it's the one that I'm sure the supporters will be frustrated about." "But we're here to emotionally support them because they're human beings, they're professionals and they're out from doing what they love to do, so that's the side of it that we need to focus on as well." "He's down. There's no way I can dress that up." "We all understand there's bigger problems in the world than injuries, but when you dedicate your life to doing something, then he's down." "He's got a good group of team‑mates that will rally around him, they all love him, they were all happy to see him back on the pitch." "He's a great character around the place and a fantastic footballer, that's I'm sure he and many others are disappointed to see that he's suffered a setback."

Managerial response and upcoming fixtures

Cleverley defended his decision to pick a strong side in the win over seventh‑tier opponents last week. Argyle had a full week's build‑up to the Alvechurch game and then followed it with a win over Swindon Town on Tuesday in the Jersey Mike's Trophy.

"I think from Saturday to Saturday we should be able to produce a team that can go full strength with no midweek game," he said. "We look at how we prepared for that game and we look at the weeks before that and how we travelled, and the players will look at it themselves as well." "The players will look at are they in the best condition and I'm sure for all of them that is yes, but we're very accountable here, that's everyone." "I wanted to use 19 players for the Alvechurch and Swindon games, whichever way that was, and I think it was 18 or 19 that got starts."