John Kosmina denies there is a soft tissue injury crisis developing at Adelaide after Bruce Djite became the fourth player to fall injured in recent weeks.
Adelaide United coach John Kosmina denies there is a soft tissue injury crisis developing at the club in the wake of striker Bruce Djite becoming the fourth player to fall victim to injury in recent weeks.
Djite was on the field for 60 seconds before he strained his groin and had to be substituted in the 3-2 victory over Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
The substitution surprisingly worked in Adelaide’s favour as Djite’s replacement Jeronimo Neumann scored a first-half double to ignite the Reds before Iain Ramsay bagged a third after half-time to put the game just beyond Perth’s reach despite the visitors’ two late goals.
Djite’s injury soured the victory for United who already have foreign duo Marcelo Carrusca (groin) and Fabio Ferreira (groin), and defender Nigel Boogaard (hamstring) in the treatment room with soft tissue damage.
Although Djite is expected to spend some time on the sidelines, Kosmina was not concerned his squad was thinning out as they approach the home stretch.
“You get niggles this time of the year, it’s no big deal. We will sort them out,” Kosmina said.
“Bruce is a strange one. He’s had a lot of issues with groin tightness on the other side so eventually there’s a bit of imbalance.
“Marcelo’s had nothing to do with conditioning, it was the circumstances. He went to block a shot and it hit him. It was a collision incident like an impact injury.
“Fab’s got a bit of early osteitis (pubis), he had that at the start of the season, and that’s because he came in under cooked and we played catch up with him.
“But Fabio will be back sooner rather than later, and so will Bruce.”
With Jeronimo the only other recognised forward beyond Djite in the squad, Kosmina hinted he may recall forgotten man Sergio van Dijk.
Van Dijk has made just three appearances in the A-League this season with the last of those coming in the 2-1 loss to Central Coast on December 1.
“We’ve got plenty of depth (in attack). We’ve got Awer (Mabil) who came on (against Perth), we’ve got Evan (Kostopoulos), we’ve got Rambo (Ramsay) and they’re all fit,” Kosmina said.
“But it (Djite’s injury) does put Serge in the frame if he doesn’t go to Indonesia.
“He’s playing in the youth team on Sunday just to keep him up to speed.
“All other things being equal he will be in the squad next week.”
Friday’s win over the Glory ensured the Reds kept the pressure on Central Coast at the top of the table, sitting just a point behind the Mariners, who face Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
Kosmina said he was impressed with his side’s desperation and fight to hit back against Perth after coming under heavy pressure early.
“We didn’t panic, but we were shaky at the start. Perth put us under a lot of pressure. They’re a good side and they pressed high,” Kosmina said.
“Once we settled down, it panned out for us. The pressure they put us under we absorbed and that was a good thing.
“We didn’t cave in, showed a bit of desperation in front of goal and we stayed alive in the game.”
The former Sydney FC coach also felt the visitors were lucky to win a penalty which was given after striker Shane Smeltz collided with Reds defender Antony Golec.
“It was never a penalty, no way in the world and that gave Perth a little bit of a sniff,” Kosmina said.
“I spoke to Smeltzy and he said he miss-controlled it and ran into Golec.”
Djite was on the field for 60 seconds before he strained his groin and had to be substituted in the 3-2 victory over Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
The substitution surprisingly worked in Adelaide’s favour as Djite’s replacement Jeronimo Neumann scored a first-half double to ignite the Reds before Iain Ramsay bagged a third after half-time to put the game just beyond Perth’s reach despite the visitors’ two late goals.
Djite’s injury soured the victory for United who already have foreign duo Marcelo Carrusca (groin) and Fabio Ferreira (groin), and defender Nigel Boogaard (hamstring) in the treatment room with soft tissue damage.
Although Djite is expected to spend some time on the sidelines, Kosmina was not concerned his squad was thinning out as they approach the home stretch.
“You get niggles this time of the year, it’s no big deal. We will sort them out,” Kosmina said.
“Bruce is a strange one. He’s had a lot of issues with groin tightness on the other side so eventually there’s a bit of imbalance.
“Marcelo’s had nothing to do with conditioning, it was the circumstances. He went to block a shot and it hit him. It was a collision incident like an impact injury.
“Fab’s got a bit of early osteitis (pubis), he had that at the start of the season, and that’s because he came in under cooked and we played catch up with him.
“But Fabio will be back sooner rather than later, and so will Bruce.”
With Jeronimo the only other recognised forward beyond Djite in the squad, Kosmina hinted he may recall forgotten man Sergio van Dijk.
Van Dijk has made just three appearances in the A-League this season with the last of those coming in the 2-1 loss to Central Coast on December 1.
“We’ve got plenty of depth (in attack). We’ve got Awer (Mabil) who came on (against Perth), we’ve got Evan (Kostopoulos), we’ve got Rambo (Ramsay) and they’re all fit,” Kosmina said.
“But it (Djite’s injury) does put Serge in the frame if he doesn’t go to Indonesia.
“He’s playing in the youth team on Sunday just to keep him up to speed.
“All other things being equal he will be in the squad next week.”
Friday’s win over the Glory ensured the Reds kept the pressure on Central Coast at the top of the table, sitting just a point behind the Mariners, who face Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
Kosmina said he was impressed with his side’s desperation and fight to hit back against Perth after coming under heavy pressure early.
“We didn’t panic, but we were shaky at the start. Perth put us under a lot of pressure. They’re a good side and they pressed high,” Kosmina said.
“Once we settled down, it panned out for us. The pressure they put us under we absorbed and that was a good thing.
“We didn’t cave in, showed a bit of desperation in front of goal and we stayed alive in the game.”
The former Sydney FC coach also felt the visitors were lucky to win a penalty which was given after striker Shane Smeltz collided with Reds defender Antony Golec.
“It was never a penalty, no way in the world and that gave Perth a little bit of a sniff,” Kosmina said.
“I spoke to Smeltzy and he said he miss-controlled it and ran into Golec.”
