Derek post Charlton injuries

WITH the dust settled after Saturday’s Sky Bet League One game at Charlton Athletic, Argyle manager Derek Adams has had time to assess his already depleted squad.

The manager has had to add captain Gary Sawyer to what seems to be an ever-growing injury-list. The defender went off at half-time last weekend at the Valley, since when we have learned that Gaz has broken a bone in his foot for the third time in his career.

The manager said: “Gary has a broken metatarsal, so he’s in plaster. We’re waiting now to find out if he needs to have it pinned or not, just to see how it is going to heal. He is obviously going to be out for a good period of time.

“It’s always slightly longer if its pinned. It’s not too different, but if he does have it pinned, it won’t happen again. It depends what the consultant advises.

“He doesn’t know how it happened; it might have been a challenge; he’s unsure. He just felt a lot of pain.

“He’s very good around the place, so we won’t miss him that way; he’ll still be around helping out.”

Forward Ryan Taylor has also seen more of the physio’s room than the training-ground recently.  

“Ryan Taylor has had a scan,” said Derek. “We are just waiting for the consultant to come back with a report on it. It looks like it is the same but, until we get the consultant’s report, we will not know. It’s the same ankle as before.

“Obviously it is a concern because he has missed a lot of game time, when you have a squad you don’t want players to pick up recurring injuries so, yes, it is a concern.”

Derek did not entertain the idea that his players are worked too hard but cited the amount of travelling as a possible cause of some of the recent spate of injuries to his ranks.

“We don’t work them too hard,” he said. “We do a football session in the morning and gym work in the afternoon, so they don’t get worked too hard.

“It might be due to the amount of travelling we do on the bus and a lot of sitting about. That could be one of the reasons why.

“When we sit for seven, seven and a half hours, it’s long journeys, and then coming back as well. We are looking at that, but, if you take the metatarsal and the ankle injuries, there’s nothing you can do about them.

“It might be that, when we get off the bus, we go for a longer walk just to exercise the legs a wee bit more and it might be, when we get to the hotel at night, we do likewise, just to get the blood flowing.”

With the likes of Peter Grant, Calum Dyson and Alex Fletcher featuring in a first-team squad for the first time this season last weekend, Derek has already had to reach deep into his ranks.

“People ask why you have a squad of 24,” he said. “Now is the reason. It doesn’t take long to come about, but also doesn’t take long to go again – it’s just one of these things that happens sometimes."