Source: FOOTYMAD
McCarthy set for spell on the sidelines
Saturday's clash with Bolton Wanderers was always going to be a physical contest, but both James McCarthy and Roberto Martinez have been left frustrated with the injury sustained by the former. Young McCarthy suffered what appeared to be a twisted ankle after a tackle from behind by Fabrice Muamba mid-way through the first half. Surprisingly the tackle went unpunished by referee Howard Webb. Speaking to the club's official website, Martinez said: "That was the really disappointing aspect of the afternoon, because we are starting an intense period of six games in 21 days now."The last thing you want is to be picking up injuries. Boycey felt his hamstring and we hope it won't be too bad. The real concern surrounds James, and we hope the results from his scan are not as bad as it looked." Whilst Fabrice Muamba has apologised for the tackle and stated in his interview with Talksport that there was no intent to injury James McCarthy. He said: "The defender played a straight ball to James McCarthy and I thought I had a 50% chance of getting the ball as it was so direct to him. I thought I could just nick it and push the team forward. "When I came in so fast, I slightly nicked the ball and he then landed awkwardly. I didn't go in to injure James, it wasn't planned or anything like that, when we walked in at half-time he was standing up fine. "It messed me up a bit when he left the pitch, I didn't really know what had happened to him so I was kind of worried. I didn't want him to get injured or anything like that, so I kind of regret it a little bit but I did just go in to get the ball. "Everything is happening so fast that it's really difficult to put the brakes on. When it happened it happened so quick, and it kind of messed my mind up a bit as I didn't know what had happened." After leaving the game on a stretcher, it would appear the the young midfielder is now set for a spell on the sidelines. The initial signs are promising but a spell of between four to six weeks out is likely for McCarthy. CLICK HERE FOR THE MESSAGEBOARD
