Perth Glory’s poor run with injuries has continued with Jamie Coyne set to miss six weeks with a knee injury.
Coyne came from the field in the 39th minute of the Glory’s clash with Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
It’s been confirmed the 28-year-old has a torn medial ligament which adds to the team’s concerning casualty list.
Earlier this week defender Jimmy Downey was ruled out for up to eight weeks with a knee injury, Jamie Harwell is out for another three weeks with a hamstring while Wayne Srhoj (hamstring) and Anthony Skorich (hip) are also on the sidelines.
Captain Jacob Burns said the latest injury was unsettling for a new-look side trying to gel.
“Coyne’s a handy player, he’s quite versatile, he can fill in. He’s one of them that you can rely on to do a job in the centre of the park or wide right, wide left, so he’s going to be sorely missed,” he said.
“To add to a few other injuries with experienced lads like Jamie Harnwell and Wayne Srhoj, the sooner they get back the better.”
Meanwhile Glory coach Dave Mitchell has continued to criticise Adelaide United’s style of football – which features a stifling 4-5-1 combination, after suffering a 1-0 loss to the Reds.
“They are very competitive, as I’ve said they put a lot of long balls in behind you and challenge you and it’s tough football,” he said.
“They had the meanest defence in the league last year, you can see they play one up front, they get everyone behind the ball and don’t allow you to play.”
“The great Liverpool couldn’t play against Wimbledon and that’s what they are like.”
“Adelaide stopped them playing but we’ve been together for three weeks as a squad, with all the players on board, so we will get better throughout the season. But I think it was bit harsh to say we didn’t turn up tonight.”
Mitchell said the team missed Srhoj’s presence, who would’ve played in the midfield alongside Burns, but added the team may look to add another player to strengthen its squad.
“He’s a quality player but we didn’t have him but you are going to have that throughout the season, players that miss you, but there’s someone in the pipeline that we are looking at bringing in for a period, so that’s developing so we just couldn’t have him here for the first couple of weeks.”
