There was some good news at the end of a difficult week for Oxford United with midfielder Anthony Forde making a good recovery after a serious injury last week against Shrewsbury.
Forde broke four ribs- two of them twice- in a challenge during the first half of Saturday’s draw at the Kassam Stadium but Karl Robinson told iFollow earlier today that Forde is now starting out on the road back.
“With everything that happened I thought we coped really well last Saturday” he said. “Maybe it’s fitting that the game before Jim Smith’s passing we showed tremendous desire. Last week was difficult for all of us because the players knew what happened to Fordy and knew he was struggling to breathe as he left the pitch.
“We were all in an emotional state on Saturday because of it. We thought it was right to tell people the truth about the injury and he is now smiling and on the way to recovery. They drained away the liquid and now it is just a case of healing and making sure the bones are aligned. It won’t be a ridiculously long road back and he knows we will be there to help him every step of the way.”
Forde joins a long list of midfielders in the treatment room this week with James Henry picking up a thigh strain to add to longer term injuries to Cameron Brannagan, Jamie Hanson, Shandon Baptiste, Ben Woodburn and George Thorne
“It’s crazy that we find ourselves with so many injured players. There might be one who is fifty/50 but I won’t know until tomorrow; it’s that simple” Karl confirmed. “But we have Alex Gorrin back after suspension and he is a very welcome addition right now.”
See the full interview including an emotional tribute to Jim Smith right now in iFollow