Hammer blow for Syers as he faces 10+ weeks out

Our player of last season faces a long, and boring, spell on the sidelines after a scan of his knee revealed partial tears on two ligaments.

He sustained the injury in a challenge with Leeds United keeper Andy Lonergan during the 3-2 Carling Cup defeat but must now turn his eyes towards November and perhaps the first round of the FA Cup to taste action for the next time.

Speaking to the official website the club's physio, Chris Royston explained the medical situation 'he's got a partial to complete posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) tear and a partial medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear in his right knee. The PCL is the ligament at the back of the knee. It is not as important as the anterior cruciate ligament, which is lucky as he could have been out for longer if he had injured that. The MCL is the one on the inside of his knee. We were pretty certain about the MCL tear, but not so sure about the one in his PCL. He will have four weeks in a brace now to keep the knee embolized and allow it to heal. In total, we are looking at ten to twelve out of action for Dave.'

Syers himself tweeted 'Thanks for the msgs...tryin to stay positive but obv really disappointed...next 4 weeks in a brace so good box sets to watch anyone?' There have already been a number of suggestions including The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, South Pacific, The West Wing and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Get in touch with Dave to let him know your favourite way to while away the hours.

As for his manager, Peter Jackson is clearly devastated. He said 'I thought Dave was having one of his best games since I've been at the club (at Leeds United) before the injury stuck, so he is definitely going to be a loss to us. We still have the likes of Ritchie Jones, Mitch and Michael Flynn, so I don't think we will be looking to dip into the loan market to replace Syers immediately. We do also have some of the younger lads behind them as well.'

Tonight's trip to Accrington is followed by the visit of Dagenham & Redbridge to Valley Parade on Saturday. Does the high octane start to the season make injuries more likely? And how much do you think we'll miss Dave? Can the players Jacko indicated step into the breach?

Let us know in the comments or the Vital Bradford forum.

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