Arsenal’s Tyreece John-Jules has been ruled out for the rest of the season in a huge injury blow to League One side Lincoln City.
The 19-year-old joined Michael Appleton’s side on loan in the recent winter transfer window, scoring against Blackpool shortly after. He’s since picked up an injury that kept him out of a couple of games, but Appleton revealed in a press conference this morning the damage was more serious than first thought.
“Last night we found out that Tyreece has a slight fracture in the tarsal bone, so it looks very unlikely that he’ll feature again this season,” said the former Blackburn boss.
“It’s a massive blow. It’s a big blow for us, for the player, for the squad, for everybody but I think first and foremost I hope he gets himself sorted as quick as he possibly can.”
This blow comes on the back of seeing top scorer Tyler Walker recalled by Nottingham Forest close to deadline day. They also sold second-highest scorer John Akinde to Gillingham bringing in Tom Hopper who has failed to impress thus far.
Despite this blow, Appleton revealed that the relationship with Arsenal is still going strong and he expects to see young talent continue to filter down from the Gunners.
“I know for a fact we’ve built a relationship with Arsenal that will last many years because of the way we’ve treated Tyreece, the way he’s enjoyed himself and the way he’s conducted himself,” he added.
“[Arsenal] have got some talented players that we’re aware of. They’re delighted with the way the relationship has gone so far in terms of the communication and the information that they’ve received from us on a daily basis about what Tyreece is up to.”
Our View
This is a huge blow for Lincoln and for Arsenal. John-Jules was believed to be closing in on a first-team chance with the Gunners, but he needed some senior football to tip the balance in his favour.
After scoring early on in his spell, he began to frustrate home fans by missing two or three really good chances in subsequent matches. However, his injury now leaves them with just one fit number nine in Tom Hopper, a player who has impressed far less than John-Jules.
Lincoln are not clear of relegation yet and this really is a massive blow for the club.
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