Down, but Not Out… Well, Not for Long at Least.

By: John | September 8th, 2008

As everyone’s probably already heard, Fabio Grosso went down in the 18th min of Italy’s 2-1 win over Cyprus. Fabio left the game with an injury to his flank. The diagnosis is two fractured ribs. It’s believed he will be out of the Lyon line-up for at least one month. That amounts to Grosso missing at least (6) matches. In L1: Nice, Le Havre, Nancy and Le Mans. And two CL fixtures: Fiorentina and Bayern.
Bernard Lacombe spoke about the injury and what it meant to the club. Lacombe: I had him on the phone yesterday, he had recieved a good “stamping” in an aerial duel. He was sandwiched and a Cypriot caught him with a knee. It’s not a serious injury, but it hurts everytime you move. You can’t really do anything to treat it. You just need to give it time to heal.
It’s annoying to be deprived of a player with such experience. It’s a less serious injury than those of Muller, Cris and Coupet last season, but the physical demands of football today do not allow you to play with a slightly injured player.
Asked about who would fill in for Grosso: Kallstrom, one of the two youngsters i.e., Gassama or Kolo; or whether a “Medical Joker” would be sought, Lacombe responded:
We haven’t spoken to Claude. We will see in the next few hours, knowing that a “Joker” will not be able to play in the Champion’s League. I think we will leave things the way they are. Accquiring someone just for Le Championnat, it’s not worth it.
I guess the surplus of midfielders is coming in handy after all. As most of you have posted in the comments section, and I have to agree, this is no big deal during the L1 games. This Medical Joker thing makes no sense as he couldn’t play in the CL games, where he’s most needed, and who the devil could we get at this point? I imagine it would have to be someone who’s currently not with a club. Hey, maybe we could get Bixente Lizarazu. I didn’t see the Saint Etienne match, so I can’t comment on how Kallstrom looked at left back. My only worry is in the CL. If Ribery is anywhere near 100%, running up that right flank at Kallstrom, or any of the other out-of-position players out there. That could be a real nightmare.