Coventry City have lost two players in a week, both with ACL injuries which will keep them out for some time, as reported by Coventry Live.
Dan Bartlett, a member of the Sky Blues’ development squad, ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments in the recent Under 23s game against Hull. It was a huge blow for the youngster, but that’s now been followed by another similar injury.
Reise Allassani, a 23-year-old forward, has suffered the same fate whilst on loan at non-league Dulwich Hamlet. It’s the second such injury the unfortunate player has had, having suffered the same on his opposite knee before signing for the Sky Blues.
Mark Robins described it as a horrible period for the club.
“It’s horrendous, absolutely horrendous,” said the former Scunthorpe boss. “We speak about why because that’s been two a season for the last few seasons, and you look at it and there’s no-one anywhere near the majority of them.”
The Sky Blues saw Tony Andreu and Jodi Jones struck by the same injuries back in 2017/18, whilst last season Jones was hit for a second time with the same fate, as was Max Biamou.
With another two this season, Robins outlined the process from here on; “They are both going to need some assistance surgically and mentally to help them through their rehabilitation on the physical side, so things are in place for them to achieve a full recovery.”
Our View
Whilst the impact of these latest injuries won’t be felt in the first team squad, it’s still a significant blow for the first team.
Both the young players will need lots of care and physio now and a modern club has a duty of care to provide that, one would imagine even beyond their contract.
Of the two, Allassani was perhaps closer to senior football having been out on loan, but this injury will be a huge setback.
