Wright, Sheaf, Mason-Clark, Bidwell - Coventry City injury news and expected return dates
Coventry City get back to Championship action on Tuesday night when recovering Queens Park Rangers are the visitors to the CBS Arena.
Like the Sky Blues, QPR have picked up since a change of manager with new boss Marti Cifuentes lifting the West London club from second from bottom to 13th place in the table, level on points with 12th placed City who, similarly, have enjoyed an upwards surge under Frank Lampard.
Both bosses have had their share of injury problems in recent months but for Lampard, at least, there appears to be a great deal of light at the end of the tunnel for three of his key players to return, having been without Haji Wright, Ben Sheaf and Ephron Mason-Clark for a number weeks and, in Wright’s case, months. Here we take a look at the latest timescales for their returns.
READ MORE: QPR suffer big injury setback as manager 'sad' for luckless former Coventry City loan man
Haji Wright
Injury: ankle
What’s been said:
Wright has been out for 13 weeks, having suffered the damage at Sunderland on November 9, and Lampard and his medical staff want to make sure the ankle is fully recovered to ensure it doesn’t break down.
“Absolutely,” agreed Lampard, “and we have that duty to do that, and Haji will want exactly the same. It’s obviously a frustration for us all. He wants to play and I want him to play. I haven’t seen him yet and just see him in the gym and have a little chat with him here and there, so it’s really unfortunate because I know the level of player that he is and what he can do for this club. But it is what it is.”
He added: “Having a player of his level back will be a big bonus for us and I absolutely don’t underestimate that. We’re working hard without him, as you always do, and other people are getting opportunities. We’re talking about them but at the same time you can’t look past the level of player he is and the impact he’s had here since arriving at the club. The fact that he’s a clinical goal scorer, amongst other talents, is a big deal so it will be a very nice welcome return when he does come back.”
Expected back:
Lampard said on Friday (Feb 7): “We’re hoping he’ll be integrating with us towards the end of next week, slowly, and then we’ll see after that.”
Ephron Mason-Clark
Injury: hamstring
What’s been said:
Lampard said: “He felt the tweak of his hamstring (against Plymouth, Boxing Day). It’s not a major, major hamstring, but it’s a hamstring so we’ll have to manage it. You have to treat the player and how he goes over time, but he’s an explosive player and these can be injuries that happen with wingers.”
Expected back:
The City boss said last week that he has a chance of being back for Tuesday night’s match against QPR. “Ephron is back in training with us and being filtered back into it,” he said. “He probably needs a little bit more training as a bulk to be really ready to start games, but he’s with us, so he’s not far away.”
Ben Sheaf
Injury: calf
What’s been said:
The Sky Blues midfielder suffered his setback at Carrow Road on January 4, forced off the field just after the hour. Lampard said at the time: “Ben’s unfortunately had a muscle injury against Norwich, so he’s going to be out for some weeks, probably between four to six weeks, possibly, which is unfortunate because obviously what Ben is as a player. He’s the captain of the club and it was a busy period of games and we rely on Ben a lot. It can happen to any player at any time over busy periods, unfortunately, so we will support Ben as much as we can.”
Expected back:
Speaking last Friday (Feb 7) Lampard said: “Ben Sheaf is probably on a similar trajectory to Haji really, in terms of we hope he’ll be back in next week and start of the following week. So we know we’ve got players coming back pretty soon, big players for us that we’ve been missing for a while now. So they will be effectively new signings, new input for this season, which is really good for us.”
Jake Bidwell
Injury: adductor (a group of muscles in the inner thigh that move the legs toward the body’s midline).
What’s been said:
“It’s a small adductor injury which we’re hoping will be days (for recovery), maybe up to a week or so at this point,” said Lampard on Saturday (Feb 8).
Expected back:
Outside chance of being fit for Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday but more likely ready to return the following week against Preston (Feb 22).
