Still too soon to predict Barkley return

Lyndon Lloyd , 21 August, 7comments | Jump to most recent

Roberto Martinez says that the swelling on Ross Barkley's knee has still not sufficiently abated for club medical staff to fully assess the extent of his injury which makes putting an exact date on his recovery difficult.

The 20-year-old was due to undergo further scans on his medial ligament tear today and, while Martinez did not divulge whether they had been postponed, he did say that the star faces a minimum of a further seven weeks on the sidelines.

The manager did reveal that both Seamus Coleman and Darron Gibson are expected to be in contention for Saturday's match against Arsenal at Goodison Park, though.

Reader Comments (7)

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Tony Abrahams
1 Posted 21/08/2014 at 13:39:35

I just saw a clip of him doing the ice bucket challenge and was thinking that his knees didn't really look any different.

I was hoping that it was this week because, if it was, I reckon he could be back sooner than we think.

James Elworthy
2 Posted 21/08/2014 at 14:26:09

I have given up listening or reading about what Roberto says about players and their injuries, as I am totally bamboozled by what he says, soft tissue damage etc etc, and I don't have a clue at the end of the statement what he actually said, He has come out with some real bullshit over Barkley's injury and then turned round and says he doesn't know where the 5 months came from.

What happened to the old days, He has damaged his knee ligaments, will be out 6 weeks, full stop end of matter.

I love Roberto as a manager but find some of the things he says about injuries and players performances a bit perplexing to say the least.

The Paderborn result was a great comment, 'at least the players learned how to train on the opponents pitch the night before the match which will stand them in good stead for the Europa League'. No comment on how shite we were.

Mark Taylor
3 Posted 21/08/2014 at 14:23:44

Relieved to hear Seamus is close to full fitness though I doubt he'll be risked from the start- not RM's style and with a hamstring injury, I think that is fair.

I fear the worst for Ross. We have tended to be hopelessly over optimistic on the more serious injuries. Gibson was supposed to play again last season and Kone and Oviedo were certainly expected to be fit for the start of this season- but they are still on the injured list. My hunch is that we will be lucky to have Ross match fit much before the end of the year. Hope I'm wrong.

Sean Kelly
4 Posted 21/08/2014 at 14:44:17

Is our team doctor Dr Hibbert off The Simpsons? Roberto needs to say less. We’ve gone from 7 to 8 players coming in to 2 or 3. We have Kone and Gibson due back before the end of last season and they are now at least a month away. Just tell us straight, we can take it.

I’m a fan of Roberto but some of his interviews are getting tiring and he’s fast becoming the little boy crying wolf. Very shortly I will stop believing him or just won’t listen.

Sean Kelly
5 Posted 21/08/2014 at 14:59:36

Maybe I’m biased being Irish but would anyone else opt for Houlihan from Norwich. Good at link up play would be good for a coule of years and would bring a bit if creativity to our midfield. Would be chesp also.

Harold Matthews
6 Posted 21/08/2014 at 15:19:46

Yes James. He's an absolute master at saying plenty while disclosing nothing.

Gary Reeves
7 Posted 22/08/2014 at 22:02:44

Forget Barkley. . 㿊m would have been better.

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