Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala has issued an update on the fitness of first team duo Erik Ring and Lewis Montsma after the pair missed this morning’s pre-season friendly against Bromley.
The Imps travelled to Portugal as they looked to ramp up their preparation for the new League One season. They took on League Two’s Bromley this morning in a game played over three separate 45 minute periods.
Lincoln opted to give two separate teams a 60 minute run-out each, with new signing Ryler Towler finding the back of the net alongside Jack Moylan and Tom Hamer in an eventual 4-3 defeat. The clash also saw the return of attacking duo Ben House and Jovon Makama, who missed last week’s friendly against Huddersfield Town.
Skubala Issues Positive Update
Eagle-eyed Lincoln fans spotted that this morning’s squad had two familiar faces absent from proceedings. Swedish winger Erik Ring and Dutch defender Lewis Montsma missed out, prompting fears that a spell on the sidelines was on the horizon. However, Skubala revealed afterwards that the pair missed out as a precaution. Speaking to official club media, he said:
“Erik felt a quad in training, he had a late fitness test, but we didn’t want to take any risks with him. He’ll have a scan when we get back.
“Lewis rolled an ankle, so again we’ll need to scan him when we get back. Obviously, we don’t want to lose players, so it was a case of not taking any chances.”
The former Leeds United coach also admitted he was disappointed with the result, but has taken plenty of positives from the trip:
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but it was good to get some more minutes into the lads.
“We’ve trained them really hard and pushed them physically. There have been some good aspects from the game and bits to learn from as well.
“It has been a great week, we’ve learned a lot and the lads have bonded really well, especially the new players in the ground.
“We’ve got everything we wanted from the trip and when we get back to the UK it will be time to step it up again.”
Lincoln are next back in action this weekend when they take on local rivals Grimsby Town.
Writer’s View
Lincoln fans will breathe a sigh of relief after hearing Skubala’s update. Montsma in particular has suffered his fair share of injury problems over the last few years and it would have been a massive blow for him to suffer another setback after coming through last season largely unscathed. Ring is expected to play a huge role this season for the Imps, so there will be optimism that he can return to the field for the rest of pre-season.
