Coventry City will be without five first-team players against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side travel to the Coventry Building Society Arena looking to reverse a trend of three successive Championship defeats. Rovers need to tighten up after leaking 16 goals in five games.
There could be changes in the Rovers defence as Tomasson looks to freshen things up with three games in six days for his squad. Aysnley Pears is almost certain to miss both matches due to injury.
Leopold Walhstedt will deputise after the Rovers number one was forced off with an ankle issue. Tomasson will give a more detailed report of Pears’ issue this evening in his pre-match press conference.
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Injuries have been unkind to Rovers so far this season. Sam Barnes, Sam Gallagher and Ryan Hedges are all out with long-term injuries. Harry Leonard and Naill Ennis won’t be back until after the international break too which has left them light in attack.
Coventry have their own problems on the injury front. Kasey Palmer, Ben Sheaf and Milan van Ewijk are all facing six to eight weeks on the sidelines.
Midfielder Palmer and Sheaf both have abductor injuries whilst wing-back Van Ewijk has torn a quad muscle. Mark Robins also has long-term absentees Callum O’Hare and Fabio Tavares on the sidelines.
Influential playmaker O’Hare has been out for nine months with an anterior cruciate ligament injury but has returned to full contact training. The game comes too soon for him though with Under-21s matches likely to follow soon to ease him back into match action.
Coventry had been under a little bit of pressure going into the weekend’s fixtures after a run of six without a win but ended that run with a 3-1 triumph over Queens Park Rangers.
Striker Ellis Simms netted his first goals of the season after a difficult spell in front of goal. Manager Robins was delighted for the club’s summer signing, who he felt was overthinking his game in a bid to score.
“Ellis was perhaps trying too hard, he was snatching at things against good defenders,” Robins said. “They have good players in the side and we can hurt teams, there’s no doubt.
“It’s difficult because we have lost players but we have players coming back from injury, like Jamie, and that gave us enough to win this game.”
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