On Monday night in the Championship, Coventry City will play host to Darren Moore’s Huddersfield Town, but one of the main concerns for the hosts is who will fill in for injured Dutch defender Milan Van Ewijk.
The 23-year-old sustained a muscular tear during last Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Cardiff City, and he joins Ben Sheaf as the club’s second injury victim since the end of the international break.
After a very active summer of transfers, Mark Robins’ team has had a challenging start to the season with a nearly brand-new roster. Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer’s departures left Coventry City with a wealth of quality in many different positions, but they have only won one of their first seven league games.
The Sky Blues’ leading scorer Matt Godden notched a brace in a 3-0 victory over Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough, but they have lost their previous five games overall and have drawn four straight before to the loss in South Wales.
But eight minutes into the second half of the game against Cardiff City, Dutch full-back Milan Van Ewijk was taken off with a muscle injury and was replaced by Tatushiro Sakamoto, a player from Japan. Manager Mark Robins neglected to give fans an initial update following the final whistle, but 48 hours later, Robins told the club website…
“It doesn’t seem promising. His quad has sustained a substantial tear. We don’t know how long he will be sidelined, and he isn’t exhibiting many symptoms, but the scan indicates he has a sizable quad rupture.
“It does not look good, but we are still waiting for the radiologist to read that report.”
Let’s look at it.
Jeremy Eccles
Josh Eccles, a graduate of the Sky Blues program and a regular in the first squad, is the candidate most likely to succeed Van Ewijk. Since taking over as Gustavo Hamer’s replacement earlier this season, the midfielder and Ben Sheaf have formed a solid partnership.
Eccles, though, played right wingback for the majority of last season when CBS Arena signing Brooke Norton-Cuffy joined the team in January. Despite Sheaf’s injury, Eccles might be able to switch to right wingback while captain Liam Kelly stays in the middle of the field thanks to the return of Jamie Allen.
Sakamoto Tatushiro
Van Ewijk was replaced by the Japanese international against Cardiff City, and he played all of preseason in that position, making an impression against teams like MK Dons and Forest Green Rovers.
Sakamoto, who last time out got in the way of his man while attempting to win a header and was unable to stop Karlan Grant from scoring, is perhaps more effective as a winger or offensive midfielder as opposed to a full-back.
Latibeaudiere, Joel
Joel Latibeaudiere, a Jamaican international, has made a successful start to his career with the Sky Blues. Last season, he was a key member of Swansea City’s Championship squad as a right wing-back/full-back.
According to Pete O’Rourke, Latibeaudiere has played the most minutes of any outfielder in England thus far this season. Given that deadline-day acquisition Liam Kitching made his debut against Cardiff City, Mark Robins may decide to consider playing the defender out wide during Monday’s Championship match.
Dasilva, Jay
Although Jake Bidwell returned to the starting eleven on the left side, Jay Dasilva is the like-for-like replacement for Van Ewijk despite his good start as a left wing-back, even if this is probably not Mark Robins’ first choice.
Dasilva has enjoyed a strong start with the Sky Blues thus far, although his 10 career appearances have all been on the opposing side of the field. Although this is a viable choice, Mark Robins is not likely to give it much thought.
