Injuries – the bane of a manager’s life and one of those unavoidable problems with professional football.
We all think injuries are unique to our club and that we have more than other teams, but we don’t. Throughout the season, players get injured and come back to fitness, and you have to roll with the punches.
This season, we’ve already had plenty of players out and come back, and as we look to take on the Cobblers this evening, injuries are once again taking top billing. One thing you don’t want against a team you haven’t kept a clean sheet against at home since 2003 is injuries to key players, but that’s what we have.
Ethan Erhahon limped off after just 15 minutes against Stockport, and Michael Skubala admitted in his pre-match interview that Erhahon will miss out.
“He’s going for a scan today, so things haven’t settled down,” he said in yesterday’s press conference. “He’ll miss tomorrow at least, but we’ll see what the scan reveals first. Sometimes the results can be positive, and sometimes they’re quite negative. We need to wait on that.”
That’s not the only bad news – the extent of Adam Jackson’s injury hasn’t been made entirely clear, but Michael gave us a glimpse at where Jacko is in his recovery.
“He’s getting closer. He’s not on the field yet, still doing well in the gym, but he’s a few weeks off at the moment. Let’s hope he’s on the right track, but there’s still a bit of time.”
It’s not all bad news – Lewis Montsma and Ethan Hamilton both turned in eye-catching performances against Stockport this weekend, and both are coming back from serious injury. Hamilton is only a few games into a return after being out of action for several months, while Lewis missed more than a year. Michael admitted the Imps have to be careful with both players ahead of tonight’s fixture.
“We have to be careful with both of them for different reasons, especially Lewis,” he concluded. “There’s a spike in risk if he plays another game. We assessed that this morning with the medical team, Wacker, and Josh Snow to see if he can go again or if it’s too soon for him. We’ve got a few pieces of the puzzle to put together to make sure we’re ready for tomorrow.”
Other players likely to miss out include long-term absentee Tyler Walker, who is back on the grass training but is a few weeks away. Reeco Hackett returned to the first team this weekend and is likely to be monitored to see if he can stand two matches in four days, while Dylan Duffy is also missing.
There’s also still uncertainty over man of the moment, Jovon Makama. His rise to prominence this season is catching eyes across the EFL, but he’s been out since penning a new deal. His return is imminent, but he may have to settle for a place on the bench, with Ben House and Bailey Cadamarteri both in good form, with three goals between them in three outings.
You must be logged in to post a comment.