Not looking good on the injury front. Head of Medical Services Alastair Thrush provided an injury update this morning and a further update will be provided later in the week. Karlan Grant was substituted after 35 minutes on Tuesday with a hamstring injury. He will undergo a scan on his hamstring today so we can assess the full extent of any injury but the early signs are that it is not too serious. Krystian Bielik came off in the 80th minute and will require further assessment today before making a decision on his involvement on Saturday following the nose injury sustained in a challenge. Lyle Taylor is struggling with an injury and bruising to the right foot following the challenge that resulted in the red card. At the moment he will be a doubt for the game on Saturday. He is in a protective boot for precaution and we will undergo further tests in the next 36 hours to determine the full extent of the injury. Mark Marshall has sustained a knock to his left hip in a challenge and will require further assessment and treatment over the next 24 hours before a decision is made on his availability for Saturday. Of the players already out injured, Darren Pratley is the closest to return. He is completing the final stages of his rehabilitation outside on the pitch and it is hoped he will re-join full training with the squad from Monday next week. If all the above players don't make it and with Forster- Caskey, Cullen, Pratley, Vetokele, Page, Ward already out. We will have to put out a makeshift team against Wimbledon.
The team could look something like this. Steer, Solly, Bauer, Pearce, Sarr Dijksteel, Lapslie, Aribo, Reeves Ajose, Fosu
Bowyer does like to play games though , he has often said a player is 100% not involved only for them to start , but I have to say Taylor in a protective boot doesn’t look great
The Portsmouth game was the first league match this season where Chris Solly was not in the starting XI. Solly came on as a substitute for Bielik in the 80th minute. I don't know if Solly picked up an injury during his fairly brief time on the pitch. Pretty unlucky if he did.
We now have our entire first choice midfield out injured - Forster-Caskey Aribo Ward Cullen In addition to that, George Lapslie also faces a spell on the sidelines. Note to the Apologists - this is NOT “bad luck”. It’s a direct consequence of having a policy that involves signing career sicknotes. How’s Billy Clarke getting on ?
another way of looking at it is that when you have a paper thin squad you have to play your midfielders until they drop rather than giving them a rest from time to time... the same applies to left backs..... how Chris Solly is still going is anybody's guess but surely he can't last much longer can he?
Solly has had an astonishing season; 23 league starts out of 24 (came on as a sub late in one game) and not substituted himself once so far in 2018-19
Compared to most League one Clubs it is not a paper thin squad. We are thin in some areas i.e. Left back. Any Club would suffer badly with the number of injuries we have had to endure. Apart from yesterday Bowyer has kept us winning, which is of great credit to him. Players injured or suspended. Page, Sarr, Clarke, Forster- Caskey, Cullen, Aribo, Vetokele, Lapslie, Ward. That is six midfielders.
Bowyer has done well. The fault lies in the recruitment & contract awards - both can be traced back to the previous CEO, the lack of a CEO for over a year since that idiot left, and the owner’s decision to decimate the club’s medical department to save money. We carry far too many crocks in our books. 7/8 out of a squad of 17/18 is ridiculous. What price Clarke, Reeves, Solly & Pearce next?
Most of us agreed at the start of the season that we had too many midfielders. Obviously we miss the quality of the likes of Cullen and Ward, but we've still got enough to get by (just) at this level. Dijksteel is a midfielder, it just means the Nabster has to play LB. As long as Taylor doesn't get injured.......
It’s not bad luck with injuries bummy. It’s the direct result of shortcomings elsewhere within the club.
Billy Clarke played in the Cup game and he was off the pace really badly. Bowyer said he was nowhere near ready to play for the first team. I presume that is still the case. Unless he has picked up an injury I don’t know about.
