CITY STAR PLAYING WAITING GAME
JODI Jones came through another 90 minutes of football this week as he continues his Coventry City comeback.
The 22-year-old winger has a number of Under-23s games under his belt since returning to fitness following a year out with a second ruptured ACL in his young career.
The fans’ favourite has featured twice from the bench for the first team, getting 13 minutes against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy in early December and, more recently, halfan-hour against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup third-round replay victory at St Andrew’s last week.
Jones travelled with Mark Robins’ first-team squad for the trip to Doncaster Rovers and has been available as part of the wider matchday squad in recent weeks but narrowly missed out on making the 18 on the teamsheet as City continue the high level of competition at the moment.
“Jodi is going to have to be patient,” he said, speaking after watching the exciting forward in Monday’s 1-1 development squad draw with Cardiff City.
“He’ll have no choice because it’s really difficult to get into the first team at the minute.
“You look at the bench on Saturday and it was excellent and there’s a difference between getting back fit and being ready to play firstteam games, and I think Jodi is probably finding himself in the middle of that at the moment.
“He’s had two torrid years of injury and I don’t think it’s a case of you get back fit and then you’re ready.
“It’s a case of him getting used to the game and the speed of it, and then mentally preparing himself to play football.”