Former Arsenal and West Ham defender Carl Jenkinson could be rushed into a depleted Melbourne City line-up for the A-League champions’ clash against Central Coast Mariners in Gosford on Sunday.
Jenkinson, who this week joined City on a six-month loan deal from English Championship club Nottingham Forest, trained with his new teammates for the first time on Friday after only arriving in the early hours of the morning.
Despite what would be an extremely limited preparation, the ex-England international’s services could be immediately required, with City missing four key defenders.
Rostyn Griffiths has Covid-19, Curtis Good is still recovering from his battle with the virus, while skipper Scott Jamieson and Portuguese import Nuno Reis are both suspended.
“We’re just trying to adapt and find the best solution for us leading into Sunday’s game,” City coach Patrick Kisnorbo said.
“We’ll need to see how (Jenxjmtzywkinson) is. The most important thing is the health of the player.
“He’s been jabbed, he’s had all the things that he’s needed. We’ll leave it to the last minute to decide whether he travels or not.”
Kisnorbo said City was fortunate to have signed a defender of 29-year-old Jenkinson’s pedigree, following the departure of Nathaniel Atkinson, who recently joined Scottish club Hearts.
“With Nathanael leaving, we had to bring someone in to at least have back up, but someone of his quality – we’re very lucky to have,” the City coach said.
“He’s a leader in the group, he’s experienced and he wanted to challenge himself by coming down here … and play some football.
“He can play a double role. He’s played centre back, he’s played fullback … we want to make this transition as quick as possible and as easy as possible for him.”
Kisnorbo said City’s recent form was better than results had suggested.
City has won just two of seven A-League matches this season, but has only lost one, and drawn four games.
“Our performances have shown that we deserved a bit better,” he said.
“For us, we don’t panic; we just keep doing what we need to do. I don’t even know where we are (on the ladder).
“Unfortunately this year we’ve had to deal with a few obstacles. It’s not easy and I’m very proud of the team.”
