Coventry City have been rocked by the news that skipper Liam Kelly will be out for up to three months through injury.
The Sky Blues were without their captain for the goalless draw at home to Huddersfield Town last night, as he had suffered a groin strain at Wycombe Wanderers in the previous match.
The initial hope was that Kelly would only be out for a couple of weeks, but after the Huddersfield match manager Mark Robins revealed the worst.
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“He’s going to be two or three months, so it’s a blow because he’s been brilliant, culminating in the two goals he scored on Saturday, but he’s popped his groin and it will be a while,” Robins told Coventry Live.
“I have been told eight to 12 weeks but it obviously depends on how quickly we can get him right. “He’s a brilliant professional who will rehabilitate and come back as quickly as he possibly can do.”
Robins admitted it was a blow “we can’t really afford” to potentially lose the captain for more than half of the remainder of the season.
It comes on top of a suspension for Gustavo Hamer, who will have to sit out the next two matches after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Huddersfield.
Although it might have been a drab affair against the Terriers, it did extend Coventry’s unbeaten run in the Championship to an impressive eight matches.
Robins’ side have beaten Cardiff City, Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers, while picking up five draws to complete the streak, including away at league leaders Norwich.
Their last defeat came at Watford in early November, and their exceptional run since the final international break of the year has moved them six points clear of the drop and away from any imminent risk of a return to League One.
They can extend their unbeaten record to nine on Saturday when they travel to a Sheffield Wednesday side currently bottom of the table, before finishing off the year against Stoke City and Preston North End.
