Newcastle will welcome back Scott Neville and James Brown for Saturday night’s clash with Perth Glory but have concerns over Dominik Ritter and Ben Kantarovski.
Newcastle will welcome back defender Scott Neville and midfielder James Brown for Saturday night’s clash with Perth Glory at nib Stadium but have injury concerns over Dominik Ritter and Ben Kantarovski.
Ritter limped off the training paddock on Tuesday afternoon with a quadriceps strain, sparking fears he had re-injured his thigh which had troubled him in the pre-season.
Kantarovski also hobbled off the pitch in distress with a knee injury.
“We have a couple of injuries which we will know a little bit more about today and tomorrow before we make our final assessment on them and finalise our squad,” Jets coach Gary van Egmond said.
“Dom (Ritter) had a scan which cleared any strain which is good news and maybe it has settled overnight which it can.
“Sometimes there is a nerve that runs through that area but again we will know more tomorrow.
“He (Kantarovski) just got a bit of a shock with it because it went inwards and he has had some issues with that knee previously and for him he is pretty aware that if you have to get another ACL done on the same knee, it is not good.
“He gave himself a bit of a shock but he is fine – there is nothing wrong with it structurally.”
With that pair under injury clouds and five players away with the Young Socceroos, including fellow defensive players Josh Brillante and Connor Chapman, the return of former Glory defender Neville from a groin strain is timely for the Newcastle side.
Van Egmond indicated Neville will slot straight back into the starting line up at right back but was not committal on how he would use Brown, who played half an hour last week for the National Youth League side in his return from ankle surgery.
“He (Brown) played 30 minutes but he could have done a little bit more,” van Egmond said.
“He has worked extremely hard on his rehab and it is a credit to our medical staff and to James to where he is at right at this moment.
“He is looking extremely fit and he did really well in the youth team game and he has been doing well in training so he will see (where he plays).”
Van Egmond confirmed former goalkeeper Matthew Nash has been signed on an injury contract for Ben Kennedy and will travel to Perth while James Virgili, Taylor Regan and Michael Bridges have also been named in an extended 19-man squad.
“We might use James (Virgili) to begin with and use Craig (Goodwin) as an impact player this week. We will have a look at it and have a look at Perth as well,” the Jets coach said.
“As I’ve said before, if we’re going to achieve anything it’s going to be done with a whole squad.
“It is a little bit of horses for courses for each game that you play, whether you’re at home or whether you’re away.
“Everyone understands that we’re only going to be as a good as the whole of our squad is.
“As we’ve seen so far the players that have come in have done a good job and the players who’ve come in off the bench have done a good job, so it’s a good position to be in.”
