It’s the strife of Ryan as Bennett set for spell out
RYAN Bennett is set for a spell on the sidelines with a calf injury.
The Swansea City defender was withdrawn midway through his side’s 4-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town at The John Smith’s Stadium and subsequently missed the 1-0 triumph over Coventry City at the Liberty Stadium.
And the centre-back is expected to be unavailable for a fortnight as a result of the issue he sustained against the Terriers.
“Benno is out for a couple of weeks with a calf injury,” said Steve Cooper.
The Swans are also assessing Kyle Naughton after he was withdrawn during the triumph over Coventry, although captain Matt Grimes is available after managing to play for the duration against the Sky Blues, despite suffering a shoulder problem in the first half.
“Kyle, not too sure. Fingers crossed it’s nothing too serious,” added Cooper.
“He played on with it for a while. We don’t know to be honest. There’s nothing very obvious to the physio, that’s for sure.
“Grimesy is fine. I know he went down, and I was a bit worried for him but he’s absolutely fine now.
“I think he had a bang to his shoulder. I guess it was a knock that he shook off.
“He played well tonight [against Coventry] by the way. I thought he was excellent. He did both sides of the game really well.”
Brandon Cooper has resumed training at Fairwood following a spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, although the clash with Nigel Pearson’s side will come too soon for the Wales Under-21 international.
Wayne Routledge (calf), Jordan Morris (ACL), Steven Benda (ankle) and Tivonge Rushesha (ACL) are all unavailable.
As for the Robins, former Swan Alfie Mawson, Andreas Weimann, Callum O’Dowda, Jay Dasilva, Cameron Pring, George Nurse, Tommy Rowe, Chris Martin, Nathan Baker and Hakeeb Adelakun are all out.
Liam Walsh featured for the club’s under23s on Tuesday, although he is unlikely to be involved as he continues to step up his recovery from a quad injury.
Famara Diedhiou will be assessed after taking a knock in his side’s 3-1 win over Middlesbrough while Henri Lansbury is expected to return after an Achilles issue.
Swansea City v Bristol City gets under way at 3pm on Saturday.
ENGLAND boss Eddie Jones has been speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Wales at the Principality Stadium.
Here’s what he had to say on a wide range of subjects, including Louis Rees-Zammit, Alun Wyn Jones, Sir Ian Botham and the way the Triple Crown-chasing Welsh team are now playing under Wayne Pivac...
Q: Which team is under the most pressure this weekend?
A: That’s a good question.
You get to the third game of the series and for most teams it’s a make-or-break game. Both teams face similar pressure.
There is nothing more exciting, is there, than a Wales-England game?
Unfortunately, there are no fans, but the intenseness of the clash will still be there. I think over the last four or five years, with the games I have been involved in, the points difference is six points. They always go down to the wire, so the pressure is going to be on the referee to make the right decisions!
Q: Will there be the same edge without 75,000 fans?
A: There’s always an edge to the game. Wales v England means a lot to both countries.
They are always tough games and I think this is the allure of the Six Nations. They are tight contests. It goes down to the last moment.
We have won one back there in 2017 basically on the bell and we had the win on the bell at Twickenham last year.
So we are expecting a similar sort of game. It’s the sort of game you’ve got to win not once, but maybe two of three times.
They will keep coming, we will keep coming. It’s going to be a great contest.
A: You guys call it a slump. They had a new coach. They were re-building after the World Cup.
They went through a transitional period, which is normal in teams after they have had a successful period, which they did under Warren Gatland.
They have found their feet. Tactically
they are probably a little bit more similar to what they were under Gatland than when they first started under Wayne.
They are a tough competitive team.
Q: In what way are Wales now more similar tactically to the Gatland era than before?
A: They are kicking a lot more than they were initially under Wayne. That has been a big trend in their game. They are having fewer rucks, which is more efficient rugby, which has allowed them to be in better positions to win games.
We’ve done a good combination of the sort of training we’re going to need for a Welsh game, which generally has a lot of work off the ball episodes.
They tend not to kick out, so there’s a lot of kick, kick, run – kick, kick, kick, run scenarios. So we’ve been practising those to make sure we make good decisions and have players in the right positions.
Q: What have you made of Louis Rees-Zammit and do you have any special plans for him?
A: I know he’s a good player, that’s what I do know.
Like most players in the UK, when they become a good player, they get adulation, they get a lot of smoke. Some of it is deserved and some of it is maybe not so deserved.
But certainly he’s a player we are going to have to watch, especially when he gets the ball. We know he’s got good feet, he’s got good pace. Johnny May obviously knows him pretty well being a club mate at Gloucester with him. So we respect
him a lot mate.
I don’t know about his celebrity status. I haven’t checked his Instagram of late.
Q: Alun Wyn Jones has had a bit fun winding your guys up in the past. Is he still capable of that?
A: Yeah, well it’s his 146th Test, so he knows what he’s doing. He’s an experienced campaigner who has a good relationship with the referees.
Obviously, at times, he has targeted various players in our team. We’ve spoken about him and we understand what he’ll be trying to do. It’s just about making sure we maintain our composure and our control.
Q: Does his presence force you to be more streetwise as a team?
A: I think we are evolving into a more street-smart team, but the game is about pressure situations.
While we all like to think we can handle every pressure situation, we don’t and that is the great thing about the game of rugby. I am sure Alun Wyn Jones is going to be looking for those situations and we’re going to have to deal with them.
Q: Ian Botham has said your team looks like an unhappy squad and
you are there for the taking. Did you expect to be sledged by him?
A: Not really.
He’s entitled to his opinion. That’s the great thing about rugby; we’ve got so many opinions. We’ve got cricketers that want to talk about rugby. Fantastic.
Q: You have gone with continuity in selection. Can you explain your thinking there?
A: There’s nothing different there. We’re just picking the best 23 for this game. We’re in the midst of developing players.
George Martin has come into camp and done really well, therefore he deserves his spot in the 23. We’re looking at how we develop our other players and bring them through so we get great competition for places, but it’s always about picking the best 23.
Q: Has the Italy game had a major influence on your selection?
A: No, every game is looked at as a game in itself. Wales is a game where we have picked our best 23 for.
Obviously we take into consideration the most recent form, but that is not everything. It is about the players’ attitude, it is about the players’ physical readiness, it is about the sort of game we want to play against Wales, it is about the sort of game we think Wales might play and the sort of referee that we have. We look at all those sort of variables and try to weigh up what is the best 23 for us.
Q: What is the reason for Courtney Lawes’ absence?
A: He slipped over in training and felt something in his pec. He was scanned and unfortunately he’s got a little bit of damage to the pec muscle that needs further diagnosis and checking and then we will have a clearer picture of his further participation in the tournament.
Q: How will having Mark Wilson on the blindside flank change things?
A: When we play Courtney at 6, it’s more of a jumping, running role. If it’s not him, we have more of a workrate 6 which is Mark Wilson, so a lot of good defence, a lot of good cleanouts, to be a bit of a glue player for the team.
Q: The inclusion of the uncapped 19-year-old George Martin on the bench is some story. What do you see as his attributes?
A: We have been watching him since we got him into camp this time last Six Nations. Unfortunately, he got a medial ligament injury which ruled him out in the autumn. But he’s back playing for his club now.
He’s very much an old-fashioned 6, with good defensive ability, carries the ball hard and is also a lineout option. With time, he may mature into being able to play lock as well. He’s got a good body on him and he comes in with a good work ethic and good approach to his training. If he keeps working hard, he’s going to be a good player.
Q: Was Luke Cowan-Dickie close to retaining his place at hooker?
A: Luke has kept his place in the team, as far as I know. He is still in the 23.
We pick a squad of 23 and work out who is going to start and who is going to finish. It is always a decision of who we think should start and who we think will finish and looking at the type of game.
Q: What are your thoughts on the postponement of the FranceScotland game?
A: What it means is on Sunday at 2pm I will be watching football instead of rugby. There is nothing in my control there, there is nothing I can influence, I really have no interest mate.