Imps Loanee Ruled Out For a Month In Latest Injury Blow
It felt too good to be true! Just a week after saying how we were looking at who might play rather than who won’t, news has broken of an injury to a loan player.
Jack Burroughs, on loan from Coventry City, has been ruled out for a month with an ankle injury, as reported on Twitter by Michael Hortin. Burroughs, who can operate at left-back, or further forward, has dropped out of the side as late but has 27 starts for the club since arriving in the summer.
It will now be a little time before we see him starting a game. His last start for the Imps came away at Wycombe, but he’s been a bit-part player since, coming on in the last minute against Peterborough, and getting eight minutes as we beat Burton 1-0 at the weekend.
The reasons he has dropped out of the side recently are numerous. One is Reeco Hackett – the attacking wide player has operated as a left wing-back, pushing forward and having Sean Roughan drop in behind him when we move fluidly to a 4-4-2. That means that Burrough’s injury won’t necessarily hit the first XI all that hard, but it will still be a blow to the wider matchday squad. The change in formation, where a full-back pushes forward and we go to a four in possession, also favours a left centre-back who can play left-back, like Roughan, or a wing-back who can play on the wing, like Reeco.
Even in the event of an injury to Reeco (God forbid) and Sean Roughan, we could still cover the position. Lasse has played on the left on occasion, most recently in the EFL Trophy against Derby, if I recall correctly, and Dylan Duffy can also operate as a wing-back. TJ Eyoma can fill in on the right, so we have cover. Of course, it’s not ideal, especially with three full-backs out on loan: Elicha Ahui at Peterborough Sports, Jaden Brown at St Mirren and Jay Benn at Solihull Moors. It’s unlikely we are able to recall any of those players, but if we did, it would only really be to benchwarm or as cover should we suffer further injuries.
Yes, it’s a blow, as Jack is a good, honest player who can fill in a variety of positions, but it’s not the sort of hammer blow we were receiving every couple of days when the last transfer window closed back in September.
