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Simms, Wilson, Bidwell, Allen - Coventry City injury news & expected return dates ahead of Derby County
Coventry City are in a buoyant mood after a achieving back-to-back Championship victories for the first time this term, following up a come-back win against Luton Town with a thumping 3-0 success at Middlesbrough.
The Sky Blues secured their first three points on the road at the weekend when goals from Bobby Thomas, Haji Wright and Josh Eccles punished ten man Boro at the Riverside Stadium.
That has further helped transform the mood around the club following a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign, restoring confidence on and off the pitch that the team have the quality to start moving up the league table. Now with 15 points on the board from their first 13 matches, Mark Robins' men will be hoping to collect three more on Wednesday night when they host Derby County at the CBS Arena.
Next up after that is a mouth-watering trip back to the North East to play league leaders Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday before the hird international break of the season so far. That two week pause will provide more time for City's injured players to get back out onto the training pitch.
READ MORE: City boss makes accusation about 'wily' M'boro campaigner
Here is all the very latest on City’s injury front as things stand...
Ellis Simms
Injury: Foot
What's been said: Robins said at the weekend: “He got up this morning (Sat) and felt he couldn’t play. He’s got a problem with his foot. Hopefully it’s not anything serious. It’s just something that came out of the blue really. I think he had an impact in training on Friday and got up on Saturday morning and felt it was too sore.”
Return date: Robins will be hoping the striker will be available for Wednesday's home match against the Rams, failing that Saturday's trip to Sunderland.
Ben Wilson
Injury: Knee ligament strain
What’s been said: “He’s OK, just recovering from a ligament tweak," was the initial diagnosis issued by the manager, who added on Friday, ahead of the trip to Middlesbrough: "Ben Wilson, Jamie Allen and Jake Bidwell - the three of them are competing against each other in the gym, so they are working really hard.
“But they are going to be a few weeks yet. I don’t know if I am talking two or three weeks for one and four or five weeks for another, but they are still a way away, and certainly won’t be back before the international break.”
Return date: Some time after the next international break.
Jamie Allen
Injury: Medial collateral knee ligament injury
What’s been said: The midfielder dropped to the deck, clearly in some trouble at around the 20 minute mark against Swansea on September 21. Robins said: “Jamie has a medial collateral ligament injury and will be out for a significant amount of time, probably going to be eight to ten weeks. It’s a setback for Jamie as well as us. He’s been through quite a torrid 12 months with various issues, and he doesn’t do anything by halves. If he has an issue, it’s an issue.”
Return date: Allen is just over six weeks into his “eight to ten week” recovery and best case scenario, could be back by mid November, with the City manager sayting on Friday (Nov 1): “Jamie will be certainly earlier than Bidders."
Jake Bidwell
Injury: Knee ligament strain
What’s been said: Robins provided an update on Friday (Oct 18), saying: “He’s an unbelievable healer and he won’t be that long at all. He’s somebody who does everything right and he will be pushing through everything, and even if he’s in a little bit of pain he will come back and as long as it’s not negative to him he will get himself back really quickly. They were looking at about eight weeks but it’s been a couple of weeks already and I think he will be quicker than that, a lot quicker than that. Bidders is working his socks off, as they all are.
Return date: Mid-late November
Raphael
Injury: Initial thigh strain
What’s been said: The right winger limped off against Port Vale in City’s first pre-season friendly in July and hasn’t been involved since. Robins said recently: “There’s progress but it’s very slow going. The difficulty is that it is not an exact science. You can push people too hard and they can break down. The medical and sports science department are treating him with kid gloves and hoping that they don’t break him, on the understanding he’s getting stronger.
“We have just got to be careful with him. If I grab hold of him and try to get him out on the grass and up to speed too quickly, chances are that he’ll break down again. But he has got to become robust to have a career in the game. And whilst it’s disappointing, it must be horrendous for him and really frustrating because he came here looking to hit the ground running.”
Return date: Unspecified. Expected to get run in the Under-21s first.
