Injury news

PragueAddick said:

As I wrote, the Valley Pass lads are very onto this issue of collective targetting of a player.

Terry Smith has another, slightly more controversial view. He thinks we as a team dont “protect” our individual players enough. By this he means a group of players getting in the faces of both the ref and opposing players when someone like Williams is targeted. I think he suggested that this might be a role assigned to McGeady!

As fantastic a job as Terry and Greg do on Valley Pass, I do find think you have to be careful when they (especially Tel) discuss issues around our players being fouled and referee decisions.

They very much have a Charlton bias, and those subjected to the Blackburn commentary first half today can only attest to how different opposition fans see things.

Not saying he is wrong though. I wonder if our coaching staff would have stats on this sort of thing?

stonemuse said:

FishCostaFortune said:

PragueAddick said:

As I wrote, the Valley Pass lads are very onto this issue of collective targetting of a player.

Terry Smith has another, slightly more controversial view. He thinks we as a team dont “protect” our individual players enough. By this he means a group of players getting in the faces of both the ref and opposing players when someone like Williams is targeted. I think he suggested that this might be a role assigned to McGeady!

As fantastic a job as Terry and Greg do on Valley Pass, I do find think you have to be careful when they (especially Tel) discuss issues around our players being fouled and referee decisions.

They very much have a Charlton bias, and those subjected to the Blackburn commentary first half today can only attest to how different opposition fans see things.

Not saying he is wrong though. I wonder if our coaching staff would have stats on this sort of thing?

The Blackburn commentators were just as biased for their team ... unsurprisingly... plus they were shit 

I mean that is exactly my point. Either way I put them on mute in the end. Was so happy to have Terry and Greg back for the second half. 

ross1 said:

DOUCHER said:

Croydon said:

DOUCHER said:

cafcfan1990 said:

DOUCHER said:

Todds_right_hook said:

DOUCHER said:

Croydon said:

DOUCHER said:

ForeverAddickted said:

DOUCHER said:

remember the tip off i had that field was out for the season - hope not but...

Well seeing he was on the bench against Barnsley and Stoke...

I know but I didn’t make it up and there is clearly an ongoing re occurring issue - as I say, hope I’m wrong 

Behave. You said he was out for the season and returning to West Brom with a terminated loan. Don't try and claim him getting injured again as being ITK.

no i didn't - i said he was out for the season and once you've checked it you can apologise and promise to check your facts before posting

But he wasn’t out for the season when you said it. He was on the subs bench last week 

I refer you to my answer to Scoham above - as I said at the time’ I’d be surprised if my source was wrong so that could be the explanation - or he could just have been wrong - who cares I just hope he is ok to play soon 

Of course it was wrong. Unless of course your source is a specialist who recommended Field is out for the season but the medical teams at West Brom and Charlton ignore them. 

Don’t know the origin of the info but I know who told the person who told me so anything’s possible - no of course about it 

So you're saying that we had a player on the bench who was out for the season and had no chance of ever playing? Despite the fact that we've fielded incomplete benches before. Sorry but that makes no sense 

no, that doesn't make sense and is not what i'm saying

Now Doucher, be the big man and say nothing about Field as everyone now knows you were right

again

PragueAddick said:

Covered End said:

killerandflash said:

Williams out after picking up a knock in training . Were his teammates all taking turns to foul him?

Made of biscuits. Although tbh I wouldn't be surprised if it's mental health issues. 

What, based on watching a Netflix series?

Yes mainly, as it actually showed he has mental health issues/perhaps depression.
He was sent to see some mental health expert, I can't remember their job title.
Plus Bowyer describing him as fragile.

Covered End said:

PragueAddick said:

Covered End said:

killerandflash said:

Williams out after picking up a knock in training . Were his teammates all taking turns to foul him?

Made of biscuits. Although tbh I wouldn't be surprised if it's mental health issues. 

What, based on watching a Netflix series?

Yes mainly, as it actually showed he has mental health issues/perhaps depression.
He was sent to see some mental health expert, I can't remember their job title.
Plus Bowyer describing him as fragile.

I think the fragile reference is to his injury record. He is a class player but made of glass.

PragueAddick said:

Covered End said:

PragueAddick said:

Covered End said:

killerandflash said:

Williams out after picking up a knock in training . Were his teammates all taking turns to foul him?

Made of biscuits. Although tbh I wouldn't be surprised if it's mental health issues. 

What, based on watching a Netflix series?

Yes mainly, as it actually showed he has mental health issues/perhaps depression.
He was sent to see some mental health expert, I can't remember their job title.
Plus Bowyer describing him as fragile.

Well I don't recall the series announcing such a "diagnosis" at all, and I was paying attention because by the time I watched it, he was already a Charlton player. I could be wrong, but I hope you are 100% sure, as otherwise you are doing him and the club a disservice by writing such a thing.

I certainly recall a dejected and lonely looking figure but that isnt the same thing at all.  

And also, Depression can be episodic and chronic, and take many forms. 

CE, I don't think you meant it maliciously, but to assume it's mental illness doesn't really help. It could be. And it very well could not be. But let him dictate the terms on which he discloses that. 

I say this with love and respect, and because I think you would understand this. 

Delayed reaction after being on the bench twice but Sam Field is out for the season as @Doucher predicted

West Brom won't be loaning us players again anytime soon.

BigRedEvil said:

If he's twisted his ankle he'll be out for a few weeks minimum, let's hope it's only minor although knowing JW's luck it'll be a few months out 

Certainly depends on the severity. A minor ankle roll, a week could be fine. A proper balloon ankle, likely weeks til he's able to start strength and conditioning up again. 

PragueAddick said:

There is a very well reviewed modern football novel, which I really enjoyed , called A Natural by Ross Raisin. Among other things, it depicts a player who, suffering from long term injury and loss of form, retreats into himself, unable to communicate effectively with his wife and family, and spending hours alone with his laptop. He joins the fans' internet forum and assumes the identity of a fan. This fake profile is strident in criticising the player (himself) with comments of the "his knees are gone" type, and worse. 

When I read it I was struck by how very plausible that scenario is. But in the context of the discussion about JW, here's the thing: the player depicted, a defender and club captain/legend, calls to mind a cross betwen Jacko and Jason Pearce. The point being that mental health issues can affect anyone, especially because of injuries - and it may happen to the last person the fans imagine, based on their image of the player from on-field performance and personality.

Having so many injury problems, losing two years of his career, now potentially losing his football career it would not surprise me if Page suffered from depression, if not he must be incredibly mentally resilient.

Bad news ahead of a big game. 

Even in our squad, some players hardly get injured. It is more likely down to us having more injury prone ones than others and bad luck. Cullen and Taylor I would put down to the latter.

I’m Williams’ biggest fan, but even I’m starting to question his squad value going forward on budget wise whether we are getting enough bang for our buck.  Every time he gets injured we are paying a non-performing ‘asset’, but additionally it provides an ongoing negative backdrop every time he is out as we know the ability we are missing out on. Real tough one for the summer this. 

As for Field, all Lifers have known the true situation for many weeks thanks to our man in the know...

Oggy Red said:

MuttleyCAFC said:

Even in our squad, some players hardly get injured. It is more likely down to us having more injury prone ones than others and bad luck. Cullen and Taylor I would put down to the latter.

Or you could say, perhaps, some players hardly get injured ...... but then they eventually do pick up a serious injury and, for one reason or another, they struggle to get fit again quickly. 

Players that pick up a serious injury early to mid-season are no doubt are under pressure to be fit again as soon as practicable.
They go through an intense rehabilitation programme, designed to facilitate recovery.

Personally, not being an expert , I wonder is the body always truly given sufficient time to heal ?
Physical recovery surely varies from player to player, rather than the schedule being a 'one size fits all' ?

And then there's question of loss of prime fitness after a long period out injured.
Often the initial injury can be superficially healed but there is naturally muscular weakness around it - and the body tries to compensate, causing strain and problems, resulting in fresh injuries before the player can be match fit.


This season alone, we had been told that Lyle Taylor was due to be back in 1st team contention by early November - but "had a setback"
and it was to be a further month before he was deemed fit enough to take a place in the 1st team squad. Taylor had missed 14 League matches. He had to be "managed" and his "minutes limited". And then 3 weeks later, picked up a different injury and was missing for another month.

Jonny Williams was another missing with serious injury that we were told had "had a setback", which delayed his re-introduction to the !st team squad. And even "the Machine" himself, Cullen ....... we were told, had had a setback and it was to be a couple of weeks later before he made a return. He still strikes me, a month later, as not fully match fit.


And as for "injury prone", you've only got to look at poor old Forster-Caskey ....... played virtually every match for Charlton since signing and a key member of the 1st team at 25. Pre-season training and a freak injury, when his studs got caught in the turf when turning, tore his ACL yet worked tremendously hard to make a sub appearance in one of the last League games of the season.  Yet 9 months later, still looks a shadow of the player he was 18 months ago.

Anyway, I'm sure someone like Sage will be able to say something along these lines with considerably fewer words.

Very well put, no need to put yourself down at the end. I’m just as likely to use many words to describe situations at the club.

People know I am supportive and defensive of the medical team and the players and their recoveries on injuries. But I still have a lot of concerns too. Mainly about how are these players going to get back to the level they once were at, physically and mentally. It can destroy them. You made an excellent point on Forster-Caskey still being a shadow of the player he was 18 months ago. You’re right, because he was such a key player to us just when he so tragically ripped his knee to pieces. The injury at the time hurt him so bad mentally and it takes a lot to come back from. I believe he has enough belief in himself to know he can get back to the level of consistency in performance with continued hard work. I also hope that’s here at Charlton.

My biggest worry of them all is Lewis Page. I don’t think it can really be described and understood just how much this time in his career his impacted him. His mental well-being is likely to be on the floor, his belief in himself shot to pieces, and that’s without the sustained damage that he has suffered physically from new injury break down after the other. I know personally that we have an excellent sport psychologist at the club, I hope there have been conversations and he has the support he needs to get through this extremely tough period. He’ll get through it, but even at such a young age, there will be question marks over whether he will ever get back to the levels he was capable of producing and did produce for us.

With the new build of training ground and the bottom floor being dedicated to sports science, gym, recovery, rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, the whole medical side, it will help us enormously. I personally can’t wait. It will help us look after and manage players like Williams better. He is so important to us and yes, he might miss a third of the season, but he’s such a talented player that makes us a far better team that I would wholeheartedly rather have him at the club than not.

There is of course a lot that can be improved and will be. But we must also remember that there are a lot of very good and positive things being done to support our players, their injuries, prevention, and overall conditioning. 

When Notts Forest went on their 42 game unbeaten run they played virtually the same team week in week out. In those days the pitches were heavier, muddier & only had 1 sub to use. How the feck did they do that when every week we seem to have half a dozen  players out injured.