A-League leaders Adelaide United have been dealt a massive blow with star youngster Mathew Leckie ruled out for two months with a knee injury.
Leckie ruptured the medial cruciate ligament of his left knee following a collision with Melbourne Victory’s Surat Sukha in last Friday night’s match at Etihad Stadium.
The one consolation for the 19-year-old was that scans cleared him of any damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, which would have resulted in a lengthier stint on the sidelines.
“Obviously I’m a bit frustrated and devastated that I won’t be able to play for awhile now, but I guess injuries happen in football, so it’s something you-ve got to move on with and just try to get yourself back into the game as quickly as you can,” Leckie said.
“At first I didn’t think I’d done my medial, I thought I was fine because we did a little bit of testing on the sideline, it felt all good, and then as I walked back on the pitch my leg started collapsing in and that’s when I knew.”
“Obviously he (Sukha) was going for the ball but he probably wanted to go and knock me about as well. Unfortunately he was a bit late, maybe he thought he could have got to it, but I got ahead of him so it’s a tough one to call.”
Leckie will go in for an arthroscopy on Friday, with the date of his return to depend on the progress of his rehabilitation, although he is hoping to return in January and help the Reds’ push towards the finals.
“I’m just really looking at getting my knee right, getting back to playing for Adelaide and hopefully I can get back for the games before the finals and in the finals as well,” Leckie said.
English-born midfielder Joe Keenan, who made seven appearances for the Reds as an injury replacement for Nigel Boogaard, has been brought back from Melbourne for an initial six-week term to cover Leckie’s absence.
