Frank Lampard was today assessing injured Coventry City pair Ben Sheaf and Brandon Thomas-Asante ahead of Saturday’s high profile Championship clash with play-off rivals Sunderland (3pm).
Whether Sky Blues skipper Sheaf and striker Thomas-Asante are available remains to be seen, but there’s good news on winger Ephron Mason-Clark, who is being managed through a “sore” injury issue, while Jack Rudoni remains on schedule for a return against Sheffield United after the international break.
Asked about Sheaf (unspecified) and Thomas-Asante (pelvis) – both of whom sat out Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Derby County – the head coach said at his pre-match press conference: “Yeah, they have had niggles this week so we’ll know where they are after today’s training session.”
Asked if they have a chance of being fit for this weekend’s game, he added: “We’ll see.”
In-form Ephron Mason-Clark started on the bench in midweek as he continues to recover from a toe injury, replaced by Haji Wright who continues to get himself back up to full fitness following four months out with an ankle injury, coincidentally suffered against the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light when they last played each other in November.
“Yeah, we’re still managing that,” said Lampard, providing an update on Mason-Clark.
“It’s a sore one for him. Sore but playable, so we’re managing it and we’ll manage it for this weekend and then hopefully the international break will definitely do him the world of good.”
Lampard, meanwhile, confirmed that Jack Rudoni continues to be on target for a return to action after the two week break and should be available for selection against Sheffield United.
As for Wright’s fitness, asked if it can take longer for a striker to get their match sharpness back, the City boss said: “I think it depends on the player. He’s been out for a long time and we have to understand that but he’s also now come on at Oxford for a period of the game, came on against Stoke for a period of game and got 90 minutes at Derby, which is great for him.
“And it’s not easy for whatever your position to come in at this cutting edge stage of the season, having missed that time. But Haji has worked hard and he’ll get better and better, for sure. So yeah, he’s in a good place considering the injury that he’s had.”
Discussion about this post