Source: Team_Talk
Coyle U-turn over Gallas 'assault'
Davies was taken off on a stretcher after Gallas' late tackle during Bolton's 4-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, which left the midfielder with ankle ligament damage but Coyle has now admitted the Arsenal defender showed no malice in the tackle.[LNB]The challenge, which led to Arsenal's equaliser in a game Wanderers had been winning 2-0, went unpunished by referee Alan Wiley and Gallas is unlikely to face retrospective disciplinary action from the Football Association.[LNB]Coyle likened the tackle to an assault in a post-match interview but today indicated he did not think Gallas intended to hurt Davies.[LNB]"Maybe (to say) an assault was a bit strong," Coyle said.[LNB]"But he certainly caught the lad. I don't think that any professional, and I would certainly hope not, goes to purposely hurt another player, but it was mis-timed - there is no doubt that it was badly mis-timed.[LNB]"Mark Davies paid the price for that and we did as a team because with a player lying on the ground, they have scored an equaliser."[LNB]Asked for his reaction to Gallas escaping censure from the FA, Coyle said: "That's up to the FA, but it won't result in us getting any points from the game.[LNB]"They are the powers that be and they decide what happens and what doesn't happen."[LNB]It is not yet known how long Davies is likely to be out of action, although the 21-year-old will definitely miss Bolton's FA Cup fourth-round tie against Sheffield United at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.[LNB]"Thankfully it's not broken but there is ligament damage there and it will certainly rule him out of this weekend," Coyle said.[LNB]"We'll be giving him extensive round-the-clock treatment and he was terrific the other night with his performance levels so he's a player we would like back in our squad as quickly as possible.[LNB]"We'll see what the weekend brings, but he's a young lad and a quick healer I'm led to believe."[LNB][LNB]
