Reid all about it
What happens in Winston’s out?
ANALYSIS: Excuse me for a moment while I state the bleeding obvious.
If the All Whites are without Winston Reid for their World Cup playoff against Peru, then their chances of winning are severely reduced.
In case you missed it, Reid was left out of West Ham’s squad for their 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace over the weekend with a calf strain.
On Tuesday, British commentator Tom Rennie told Radio Sport he didn’t expect Reid to be available for New Zealand’s matches against Peru on November 11 and 16.
That seemed to be based on some guesswork around the severity of the calf strain. A grade I strain would seem him out for seven to 10 days, while a grade II injury would keep him out between four and six weeks. Rennie believed it was the latter for Reid.
West Ham haven’t said anything official about the injury. All Whites coach Anthony Hudson said he was confident Reid would be available.
I don’t think I really need to go through a forensic examination of what Reid, one of the best central defenders in the English Premier League, would bring to the All Whites. The loss of his leadership, defending and distribution from the back would be devastating for the team.
But it gets even worse when you look at the fitness issues with the players likely to step up in his place.
Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante hasn’t played since picking up a groin adductor injury on October 15, although he
ran some fitness drills after missing his side’s 3-3 draw with Brisbane Roar on Saturday and is expected to be included in the squad.
Ipswich Town centreback Tommy Smith hasn’t played a minute of first-team football in almost three months due to a hamstring injury, but has cleared the injury and now just needs a bit of match fitness.
Those two would be the likely choices to join Michael Boxall in a back three if Reid wasn’t available, as they did for all three games at the Confederations Cup. After that, it would be Sunderland under-23 player Sam Brotherton or Themi Tzimopoulos, who plays for PAS Giannina in Greece.
The All Whites are used to playing without Reid - his lone appearance of the last 12 months for the national team was the 2-1 loss to Japan on October 6 - but none of these players are anywhere near the same class as Reid.
At least the injury news seemed more positive for striker Chris Wood. He missed Burnley’s game against Newcastle yesterday with a hamstring strain, but was expected to be fit enough to make the trip to New Zealand.
Wood’s influence would be just as crucial as Reid’s given his role as vice-captain and the dearth of attacking options at Hudson’s disposal. Next cab off the rank in the striker department would be 36-year-old Shane Smeltz, who currently plays in Indonesia.
After that the squad is likely to feature Jeremy Brockie and Rory Fallon, with the former netting just one international goal in 49 appearances, while the latter is playing pub league football in England.
The All Whites aren’t blessed with great depth and now is certainly not the time they will want it to be tested.
The loss of his leadership, defending and distribution from the back would be devastating for the team.