Why James Coppinger will miss Doncaster Rovers' trip to Swindon Town

James Coppinger suffered a calf injury during the warm-up ahead of Doncaster Rovers’ win over Blackburn Rovers last week.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The veteran will be out of action for the next few weeks with the issue, boss Darren Moore has revealed.

“Copps picked up his injury in the warm-up at Blackburn,” he said.

“Even though he was sat on the bench, we couldn’t use him.

James CoppingerJames Coppinger
James Coppinger
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If you looked more closely I think he had his slippers on because he was never going to come on.

“It’s unfortunate for him. These things happen.

“Because we were in isolation before and people couldn’t go anywhere, once you get back into training and you're tweaking those muscle fibres.

“You have to integrate players back in because their bodies have been stood still and all of a sudden they’re back working.

“You learn from the sports science with how you go forward.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While Coppinger is set to be missing from Rovers’ trip to Swindon Town on Saturday, Moore is expecting to be able to call on Jon Taylor and Matt Smith once again.

Both players tested positive for Covid-19 between Christmas and New Year. Taylor struggled to shake-off the after-effects of the virus in time to feature against Blackburn while Smith was still in quarantine.

“Tayls is fine and ready to go,” Moore said. “He’s back with the squad and ready.

“Matt is fine. That’s been another one where we’ve had to integrate him back in this week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’s just got to pick back up his physical levels to where we need them to be.”

*

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.