Fleetwood Town have suffered a huge injury blow following the news that striker Ronan Coughlan is set to miss the remainder of the season.
The 28-year-old has been in excellent form this season, scoring 10 times in all competitions. This puts him as the club’s top scorer for the 2024/25 campaign, showing why the Cod Army were so keen to secure his services last January.
Signed for Irish side Waterford on the back of a 33-goal season, Coughlan was brought in to help secure Fleetwood’s League One status. He scored just twice as they suffered relegation but has taken has discovered his form in the fourth tier.
He bagged his eighth league goal of the campaign in the 2-1 defeat against Carlisle United on Saturday, but injured himself at the same time. It was a result which left Pete Wild’s side in 15th, 11 points off the play-off positions.
Wild Confirms The Worst
Fleetwood welcome league leaders Walsall to the Highbury Stadium tomorrow night as they look to bounce back from their shock defeat at the weekend. They will have to do so without the services of their talisman though, who will miss the remainder of the season.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, the former Barrow boss confirmed the news:
“It’s really sad news because he’s been outstanding this season,” boss Pete Wild told BBC Radio Lancashire.
“He’s having surgery tonight and it’s going to be a long road. We need to support him in and out of the building on his recovery.
“He’s got real quality and our job is to make sure he comes back bigger, stronger, and as good if not better a player than he was before.”
Writer’s View
This is a huge blow for Fleetwood. Coughlan endured a barren spell throughout December but looked to have rediscovered his sparkle since the turn of the year with two goals in three games. He bagged two in the 6-2 win over Walsall in October and it would have been hoped that he could replicate that feat when the league leaders visit Highbury tomorrow. Someone else will now need to step up and it will be interesting to see if Pete Wild dips into the transfer market to replace their talisman before the window shuts next Monday.
