ASN Injury Report
Terrence Boyd Has Setback, Josh Gatt Is Running Again
Terrence Boyd’s recovery has hit another setback, though Red Bull Leipzig suggested it’s more minor than October’s misfortune. The club tweeted on Thursday that Boyd had a cyst on his knee surgically removed, which would suspend his rehab by 10 days. The 25-year-old striker underwent a similar procedure in October, where his lateral meniscus was also smoothed to prevent further inflammation. This third surgery in 15 months appears to be less of a worry though. Boyd himself provided this quote for the club to further assuage worries:
.@TBoyd91: "Dieser kleine Eingriff wird mich nicht zurückwerfen. In 10 Tagen geht's mit dem Aufbautraining weiter." pic.twitter.com/flrCVXeC0E
— RB Leipzig (@DieRotenBullen) February 18, 2016
Danny Williams missed Reading's scoreless draw against Burnley on Saturday due to a hamstring problem. This was the 26-year-old's first absence from the matchday squad all season. Royals manager Brian McDermott told the club the following Wednesday that Williams will still "be a tall order" to make the Royals' FA Cup match against West Brom tomorrow, since the defensive midfielder was scheduled to return to training today.
Tim Howard returned from his knee injury to make the bench for Everton’s 1-0 loss to West Brom. Howard will still be the backup for the club’s Saturday cup match at Bournemouth, after manager Roberto Martinez announced that Joel Robles would remain the first choice. “It's important that you give continuity and at the moment, Joel is doing really well,” Martinez said in a Thursday press conference. "But Tim Howard has been injured and he hasn't been able to fight for his place back. We'll benefit from the competition for places and that's the way I want to see it."
Without a cup match this weekend, Stoke City’s next fixture is eight days away. There’s already the expectation that Geoff Cameron will sit the game out due to his ankle injury. The Potters are spending five days in Dubai for warm weather training. Counterintuitive to the better weather, Cameron and other injured players have taken advantage of the training complex’s cold chambers. “There were three chambers set at minus-10, minus-20 and minus-107” degrees Celsius, Stoke Assistant Manager Mark Bowen told The Stoke Sentinel on Friday. “The injured lads like Geoff Cameron and Ryan Shawcross spent a minute in each because it's supposed to repair muscles quicker.”
Another week, another promising update on Aron Jóhannsson’s return to Werder Bremen’s side after the nerve irritation in his hip last year:
Özkan #Yildirim, Raphael #Wolf and @aronjo20 taking part in an individual session on the road to recovery. #werder pic.twitter.com/guj9wwfEOX
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) February 16, 2016
Johannsson even took this friendly dig at his fellow striker Anthony Ujah on Thursday. Hopefully he can bring that confidence to the pitch when the time comes.
Rubio Rubin spoke with FC Utrecht’s video channel Friday, saying that he hopes to return to training with the team in the next few weeks. An optimistic return for the side’s KNVB Cup semifinal against amateur side VVSB on March 2 was also mentioned. How did Rubin feel about that? We’ll let you decide:
Hard werkt @RubioRubin aan zijn herstel. Hij sprak er met #fcutrecht TV over:https://t.co/jIhwR47WPB
— FC Utrecht (@fcutrecht) February 19, 2016
Josh Gatt is running again after his last anterior cruciate ligament operation five months ago. The Molde winger’s return in May 2015 only lasted five minutes, with knee injuries hampering him as far back as 2013.
San Jose Earthquakes boss Dominic Kinnear expects Fatai Alashe to return from his hernia surgery rehab within the month, the San Jose Mercury News reported on Wednesday. Alashe had to withdraw from the U.S. national team’s January camp and undergo a procedure to fix the injury in late January.
The same article reported that Marc Pelosi may need surgery to relieve the severe tendinitis in his knee, which could come with a potentially long recovery period. "It has just been bugging him," Kinnear said. "It has bothered him the whole offseason." Pelosi now seems certain to miss the U-23 national team’s Olympic playoff against Colombia in March.
Philadelphia Union captain Maurice Edu posted this on his Instagram account earlier this week, with emojis that can only be positive:
Last report from the Union and Edu was that the player should recover from his October hernia surgery in time to make the preseason opener.
Nick Kariuki is an ASN contributor. Follow him on Twitter.
