Adelaide United’s Paul Reid has recovered from a left calf strain but says it’s unlikely he’ll make his comeback in Round 15 against the Gold Coast at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Instead, the Reds midfielder expects to have a run in the club’s National Youth League side as he looks to regain match fitness after missing clashes with Melbourne, Central Coast and Brisbane Roar.
The 30-year-old is accepting of his demotion to the development team given calf and quad problems have limited him to just six games this year.
“I think because of what has happened over the season I don’t think the coaches are going to risk me for the Gold Coast game,” Reid said.
“If they want me to play (at the Hyundai A-League level) I’ll put my hand up but I’ve got to make sure I’m 100 percent right and whether that’s coming back through the youth team to get 45 or 60 minutes … we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“I’m going to be aiming to train with the team on Monday.”
Reid said his injuries had been both annoying and unexplainable.
“Mentally it’s very hard. I did my cruciate about three years ago and you can get your head around that because you are going to be out for six months but when you keep getting little niggly injuries it’s so frustrating,” he said.
“If you strike a ball and you feel your quad go then you think ‘Ok, I’ve done something’ but when you just feel tight in an area and you stop training just to be cautious and then you find out that you’ve actually strained it, it’s very frustrating.”
“You get yourself back into good shape and you are playing well and then you get another injury and you are back to square one. That’s why this time we can’t rush it.”
“I’m not going to get injured for the rest of the season that’s for sure … hopefully anyway!”
Kristian Sarkies has risen to the occasion in Reid’s absence but there’s no doubting the former Brighton and Hove Albion player is still in the Reds’ best 11.
Reid said he was desperate to get back into the side but didn’t think his absence had anything to do with the team’s inconsistent results.
“I don’t think they’ve been missing me, Sarks (Kristian Sarkies) has been doing a really good job in there, he had a few injuries at the start of the season and he’s come back with a bang,” he said.
“Whether they are missing me I’m not sure but I want to get back into the team and that’s all I know.”
“There’s been games we’ve lost and we haven’t deserved to lose, especially the other night to (Brisbane Roar). A few lapses in concentration really do cost you and we haven’t been scoring the goals and everyone knows that.”
