ASN Injury Report
Jermaine Jones Closes in on Fitness; Spector Is Back
The Besiktas midfielder is anxious to make his Turkish debut, while the Birmingham City defender has a chance to make one last push for World Cup consideration.
BY
Nick Kariuki
Posted
February 19, 2014
8:38 PM
D.C. United’s Chris Pontius has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation. He experienced pain near the scar tissue from his post-season surgery. This means he’ll likely miss the preseason’s Carolina Challenge Cup and as a result the season opener against the Columbus Crew.
Eric Lichaj’s groin injury did not turn out to be a hernia, Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies stated on Tuesday. When asked about Lichaj’s progress on Friday, Davies said he was 10 to 14 days away from returning to action.
Despite returning to training last week, Jermaine Jones did not make the Besiktas squad that won 1-0 against Bursaspor on Sunday. This Saturday Besiktas faces Galatasaray in an Istanbul derby, which would be a dream debut for any player. Jones tweeted this on Sunday as he closed in on match fitness
On Monday Jonathan Spector picked up an hour of playing time for the Birmingham City reserve team in a 4-0 win over Barnsley’s reserves. Reserve team manager Richard Beele had this to say about Spector’s performance: "It was like he hadn’t been away. There were no after effects and it looked like he could have gone on longer. I know he really enjoyed it." Prior to the game, first team manager Lee Clark told MLSsoccer.com that Spector could feature against Blackpool this Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Oguchi Onyewu started outdoor running on Monday, The Star reported.
John Brooks was back on the bench for Hertha Berlin’s 1-2 loss to Wolfsburg on Sunday. The defender’s next chance to play will come this Saturday when Hertha travel to Stuttgart.
With a protective cast on his right hand, Fabian Johnson made his return to Hoffenhiem’s starting XI against derby rivals Stuttgart, as a right back! Usually used in left back or left midfield, Johnson had remained on the bench since breaking a metacarpal against Nürnberg. Hoffenheim won by a convincing four goals to one and will visit Borussia Mönchengladbach this Sunday.
DaMarcus Beasley came on as a second half substitute for Puebla’s 1-0 loss to league leaders Cruz Azul. Beasley had to be subbed off in the previous match with a foot injury and will next face Atlante this Sunday.
AZ Alkmaar striker Aron Johannsson had a minor scare in Friday’s practice session, but managed to play the full 90 minutes of the following day’s match against Utrecht. Johannsson scored the opening goal after 21 minutes, but an equalizer from Jens Toornstra in the second half ended the match in a draw. The Alabama native will hope to carry on his goal-scoring form when his side faces league leaders Ajax this coming Sunday.
Brek Shea came on in the second half of Barnsley’s 2-0 loss to Wigan on Monday. He had been out with a stomach illness since he was subbed out against Ipswich on February 8.
Alejandro Bedoya returned from his hamstring injury to play the full 90 minutes in Nantes’ 0-0 draw against Nice. Twelfth-placed Nantes will next host Rennes this coming Sunday.
On Thursday a Bolton spokesman told MLSsoccer that Stuart Holden is at least a week away from full training and six to eight weeks away from running out for the reserve team, sometime between late March and mid-April.
Nick Kariuki writes his ASN Injury Report every week. Follow him on Twitter.
