Lilywhites plagued by injuries
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Major obstacles have been put in front of Ian Foster ahead of his sides clash against UCD this Friday and possibly for the next few weeks as the Lilywhites look to build momentum going into their next set of games. Injuries to Stephen Maher, Greg Bolger and Eoghan Osbourne, as well as youth team player Glen Trainor are a massive setback to Dundalk as they prepare to tackle a very congested set of fixtures in the next few months. Dean Bennett is also recovering from a hamstring strain.
It was discovered this week that Bolger has suffered a grade two strain on his thigh muscle and is expected to be out until at least, the end of May. This would see the 22-year old miss twelve Premier Division games. The Dundalk boss realises how crucial this may be. He said: “It’s a significant strain and it’s unfortunate because he had worked hard on his rehabilitation. It’s a blow to us and it’s obviously a big blow to Greg. We’ll start his rehabilitation process now and hopefully we don’t have any setbacks within that timeframe and we can get him on the pitch towards the back end of May. It’s not a big shock; it’s something that he had been carrying a little bit.”
Maher undergoes an MRI scan today to assess his groin strain and the extent of the injury. Foster explained that he has been carrying this strain for some time now, and this is why he couldn’t commit himself 100%. Due to the constant strain, it is likely that the defender will have torn his groin to some extent which could see him out for some time, although Foster believes he will continue to play up until the date of his surgery. “It’s in the same area that he was suffering last year,” Foster added, “but it’s not the same injury. He had an injection at the back end of last season to cure a problem with his pubic symphysis bone. That has been cured. Unfortunately for Stephen, he seems to have damaged muscles surrounding that area. We’re hoping to get him surgery as soon as possible, and that will cure the problem.” While not the osteitis pubis that Maher suffered last July, Foster feels it was a cause of the groin injury.
On top of these losses, 19 year-old Osbourne has fallen to a broken leg, training with the reserves in Tallaght on Tuesday night. The break should rule him out for about twelve weeks, which would see his date of return to be around July/August. Foster clearly felt for the youngster. “It’s a terrible blow, not only for the first-team squad but for Eoghan personally, who was dogged a little bit by a hamstring strain early on in the season. He had to come off in the first game of the season at Shamrock Rovers. To finally get his rehabilitation all done and dusted, to suffer such an injury in training is heartbreaking for the kid.”
The only positive news surrounds Bennett, who is nearing recovery following a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since he was subbed in the first half of the home win over Galway United three weeks ago. While Foster is delighted to have Bennett back, he won’t rush the young star back into action. “He is probably 4-5 days away from being back involved fully. Friday night will probably be too soon for Dean. We might, if we need to, take a chance on him on Monday. But with the amount of games that we have got coming up, and the importance of those games, we can’t risk Dean. As much as need him on the pitch, we have got to be sensible, because if he misses 4-6 weeks he could miss a dozen games in that time. As much as we want Dean back on the pitch, we have to be sensible with his rehabilitation and make sure that he is 100 percent before he comes back into the team.”
With the long term injuries stacking up at Oriel Park, Foster is left with a bare 16-man squad for the foreseeable future. The Dundalk boss in under no illusions either. “It is very tight. We seemed to have this problem last year. We suffered some bad injuries. Obviously, the Osborne one is very, very frustrating for Eoghan and myself. But injuries are part and parcel of football. It is unfortunate for us that with the amount of games we have got coming up, we’re without three huge players for us. It’s disappointing, not only for the playing staff, but for myself and my staff and I’m sure the fans, who want to see Dundalk being able to put out their best 11 and have competition for places and everything else that goes with that. But we have got to get on with it. That’s the hand we have been dealt with. We wish these lads the best of luck in their recovery, and we’ll look after them to the best of our ability.”
It was discovered this week that Bolger has suffered a grade two strain on his thigh muscle and is expected to be out until at least, the end of May. This would see the 22-year old miss twelve Premier Division games. The Dundalk boss realises how crucial this may be. He said: “It’s a significant strain and it’s unfortunate because he had worked hard on his rehabilitation. It’s a blow to us and it’s obviously a big blow to Greg. We’ll start his rehabilitation process now and hopefully we don’t have any setbacks within that timeframe and we can get him on the pitch towards the back end of May. It’s not a big shock; it’s something that he had been carrying a little bit.”
Maher undergoes an MRI scan today to assess his groin strain and the extent of the injury. Foster explained that he has been carrying this strain for some time now, and this is why he couldn’t commit himself 100%. Due to the constant strain, it is likely that the defender will have torn his groin to some extent which could see him out for some time, although Foster believes he will continue to play up until the date of his surgery. “It’s in the same area that he was suffering last year,” Foster added, “but it’s not the same injury. He had an injection at the back end of last season to cure a problem with his pubic symphysis bone. That has been cured. Unfortunately for Stephen, he seems to have damaged muscles surrounding that area. We’re hoping to get him surgery as soon as possible, and that will cure the problem.” While not the osteitis pubis that Maher suffered last July, Foster feels it was a cause of the groin injury.
On top of these losses, 19 year-old Osbourne has fallen to a broken leg, training with the reserves in Tallaght on Tuesday night. The break should rule him out for about twelve weeks, which would see his date of return to be around July/August. Foster clearly felt for the youngster. “It’s a terrible blow, not only for the first-team squad but for Eoghan personally, who was dogged a little bit by a hamstring strain early on in the season. He had to come off in the first game of the season at Shamrock Rovers. To finally get his rehabilitation all done and dusted, to suffer such an injury in training is heartbreaking for the kid.”
The only positive news surrounds Bennett, who is nearing recovery following a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since he was subbed in the first half of the home win over Galway United three weeks ago. While Foster is delighted to have Bennett back, he won’t rush the young star back into action. “He is probably 4-5 days away from being back involved fully. Friday night will probably be too soon for Dean. We might, if we need to, take a chance on him on Monday. But with the amount of games that we have got coming up, and the importance of those games, we can’t risk Dean. As much as need him on the pitch, we have got to be sensible, because if he misses 4-6 weeks he could miss a dozen games in that time. As much as we want Dean back on the pitch, we have to be sensible with his rehabilitation and make sure that he is 100 percent before he comes back into the team.”
With the long term injuries stacking up at Oriel Park, Foster is left with a bare 16-man squad for the foreseeable future. The Dundalk boss in under no illusions either. “It is very tight. We seemed to have this problem last year. We suffered some bad injuries. Obviously, the Osborne one is very, very frustrating for Eoghan and myself. But injuries are part and parcel of football. It is unfortunate for us that with the amount of games we have got coming up, we’re without three huge players for us. It’s disappointing, not only for the playing staff, but for myself and my staff and I’m sure the fans, who want to see Dundalk being able to put out their best 11 and have competition for places and everything else that goes with that. But we have got to get on with it. That’s the hand we have been dealt with. We wish these lads the best of luck in their recovery, and we’ll look after them to the best of our ability.”
About Andrew Cunneen
Andrew joined Extratime for the 2010 season and covers all the on-goings down in Limerick. Having first experienced the League of Ireland in 2002, Andrew became hooked, even at such an early age. He is … View Full Profile