Reo-Coker tipped to bounce back
Friday 29th January 2010, 12:28PM GMT.
Villa injury-victim Nigel Reo-Coker has been backed to overcome his Wembley woe and roar back even hungrier to succeed.
It was confirmed yesterday that Reo-Coker faces upto three months on the sidelines with a fractured ankle, ruling him out of next month’s eagerly-anticipated Carling Cup final with Manchester United.
The midfielder, who has only had a sprinkling of starts since his bust-up with Martin O’Neill in September, now faces a battle to play again this season, while the injury has all but ended the possibility of him leaving in January.
But team-mate James Collins, who was at West Ham with Reo-Coker when he first damaged the ankle, insists he has the character to deal with the disappointment.
“It’s been tough for Nige,” he said. “He first broke his ankle when I was at West Ham with him and I think he’s picked up another little knock on it which is a shame when he was knocking on the door to get in the team.
“Nigel is a great player to have in the team and it is unfortunate for him and everyone around the place.
“I think he had a couple of pins in when we were at West Ham. It’s just one of those things, maybe it wasn’t quite right and it seems to have cracked again.
“Missing the cup final won’t be nice for him. Footballers get injured though and unfortunately for Nige it’s come at a bad time.
“But he’s a strong character on and off the pitch. He has a good attitude and he is mentally strong so if he is out for the season I’m sure he’ll come back next season as hungry as ever.”
Stephen Warnock remains a major doubt with the shin injury which ruled him out of Wednesday’s draw with Arsenal, while skipper Stiliyan Petrov is carrying an Achilles problem and is being closely monitored.
UK Sport
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