Injured Reds playmaker Dario Vidosic is optimistic but at the same time cautious about predicting a return date from his recovery from an un-displaced fracture in his back.
Injured Reds playmaker Dario Vidosic is optimistic but at the same time cautious about predicting a return date from his recovery from an un-displaced fracture in his back.
Vidosic fronted the media this morning to discuss the injury, which he suffered when he fell on his back after a collision against the Wellington Phoenix before it flared up in the Reds- scoreless draw with the Newcastle Jets last Friday night.
“I landed unfortunately with my elbow underneath my back so I think that might have caused it, so it was a little bit painful but I was happy to get through the game and play again,” Viosic said.
“So it will definitely be tough to watch this week being out, and I want to be out there to help the boys and I-ll definitely be doing everything I can to get out there as soon as possible.”
Initially, Vidosic thought the problem was only muscle related but scans revealed otherwise and although he is keen to limit the amount of time he is off the field, he is wary about making sure the fracture has healed sufficiently before he thinks about playing again.
“At the moment it-s a day by day thing. I-d love to be able to play this week but we-ll just have to wait and see how it reacts every day, and then when I start training see how it feels and hopefully it won-t be too long,” Vidosic said.
“It-s hard to tell with bones, it-s just about how it heals and how I feel.”
Vidosic will undergo a modified training program and will certainly miss the Reds- match against the Central Coast Mariners at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
However, he is not ruling out a possibility of being available for selection for the following week-s blockbuster with Melbourne Victory but again, it all depends on the timing of the healing process.
“I think it-s mostly just riding and swimming at the moment and maybe some straight line running, I felt comfortable to some degree with that…it-s just like a broken bone so it just has to be left to heal basically,” Vidosic said of his rehabilitation.
“Things like this you always have to be optimistic and stay positive. I-d love to play on Friday night against the Central Coast but I-ll look day by day and hopefully for Melbourne Victory I can put my hand up for that game.”
As Vidosic becomes another Red to have his season disrupted by injury, he highly refutes pouring the blame on the club-s injury management, treatment and the squad-s physical conditioning as factors into why United has struggled to have everyone fit and available.
When asked whether any background reasons were the cause of a number of players in United-s squad being hampered by injury, Vidosic-s answer was emphatic.
“Definitely not. I don-t think it-s anything in the background. That-s just part of professional sport, there are always going to be injuries regardless, and we-re just a bit unlucky at the moment,” Vidosic said.
“It-s something that happens. If you look at even Barcelona recently, you-d have to say the best club in the world with the best medical department and best everything, they also went through a stage where everyone was asking questions about their injuries where the world-s best players were getting injured and you-d think they-d get the world-s best treatment, so it-s part of sport, it-s a little bit unlucky for us at the moment but once we get out of it we-ll be fine and we-ll come back stronger together.”
While Vidosic-s back will keep him out of Friday night-s game with the in form Mariners, who have won four of their past five games, Sergio van Dijk and Evgeniy Levchenko are a chance to return from calf injuries, although both will need to prove their fitness during the squad-s final training session on Thursday.
Tickets for the match against the Central Coast Mariners are available through Ticketek.
