Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Sprangler faces six weeks out
ST JOHNSTONE midfielder Sven Sprangler could be out of action for six weeks, manager Craig Levein has revealed.
The Austrian was taken off 25 minutes into Saints’ weekend defeat to Celtic, having injured his knee.
Scan results will give a more accurate timescale for Sprangler’s lay-off.
But there’s a possibility he won’t be back playing until after the Premiership split.
“Sven opened his knee up on Saturday and is going for a scan,” said Levein.
“We think it’s either a grade one or grade two medial ligament injury.
“A grade two is about six weeks out. If it’s a grade one, we might have him back in a fortnight.”
As with DJ Jaiyesimi, Sprangler’s injury has come at a point when he’s established himself as a regular starter under Levein.
“Sven’s a good ballwinner,” said the Perth boss. “That’s his game.
“When we changed the shape slightly we brought him in to sit beside Dan (Phillips).
“It gave us a wee bit more stability. It would be a blow to lose him for a while.
“We’ve got a few issues, unfortunately.
“Connor (Smith) has been ill. So he isn’t with us just now.
“DJ is obviously out for a while. Dare (Olufunwa) hasn’t trained for a couple of weeks but we’re hopeful of getting him back in time for the Dundee game.
“Andy (Considine) came off the training ground today because he felt his groin.
“We’ve not got our troubles to seek.”
Meanwhile, Levein gave an update on Drey Wright’s training ground progress.
“Drey is improving,” he said. “He’s been out running so the next stage is getting him back involved with the group.”