Eduard out for nine months – And The Youngsters Who Stand To Profit
Add comment February 26th, 2008
The club have spoken in specific medical terms for the first time about Eduardo’s injury, and it’s far better news than initially feared, with this sentence probably the most heartening of all:
“It is hoped that Eduardo will be running again in six months time and making a full recovery after nine months.”
I think it’s pretty easy to guess what Eduardo and all Arsenal fans will be hoping for this Christmas – the return of the Premier League’s best finisher to action. When you consider that there were fears Eduardo could face amputation, it has to be considered a very promising prognosis.
If you want to wish him well in his recovery, the club are collating messages for Eduardo here.
In the Croatian’s absence, the striking burden falls heavily on teenagers Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott. They’ve netted ten goals between them this season, but with Robin van Persie still a few weeks away from a return, they’ll have to be significantly more prolific between now and May. A contact close to the team informs me that Emmanuel Adebayor is feeling absolutely exhausted having carried the goalscoring responsibility since Van Persie’s injury – if we don’t want him to collapse under the pressure, we need the likes of Walcott to perform in the manner he did at St. Andrews.
Another youngster who could make an impact in Eduardo’s absence, next season at least, is Carlos Vela. The Mexican provided an assist and a goal for Osasuna over the weekend, and as a left-sided forward or winger, is perhaps the obvious man to come into the squad whilst Eduardo recovers.
My final word on the Eduardo situation for today is to add Jamie Redknapp’s name to the list of idiots that have defended the challenge on the Croatian. In his Daily Mail column, he called the tackle “innocuous”. Well Jamie, if I ever meet you, don’t be surprised if a similarly “innoucuous” punch is landed on your smug, Lampard-loving face.
As you may have noticed, Spurs won some sort of trophy over the weekend – a victory which they celebrated with their usual class. Still, I’m sure the irony of those pictures being posted on a Manchester United website is not lost on anyone.
