Coventry City’s players reported back for pre-season duty today as the club embarks on a six-week run in to the start of the new 2024/25 Championship campaign.
The Sky Blues arrived in dribs and drabs as the annual testing with the club’s sports scientists and fitness coaches got underway with a staggered start, with many of the Under-21s development lads coming in before the first team personnel returned to a newly refurbished and fresh-looking Ryton training ground.
Based on who had extended seasons with their countries and who is leaving the club, we can form an idea of who Mark Robins and his coaching team will be getting to work with first when they move onto the grass for some ball work and hidden fitness work.
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Who should be back on day one?
Certainly, all of City’s new signings to date are expected to report to Ryton for the first time, with Ephron Mason-Clark, Raphael Borges Rodrigues and Jack Rudoni meeting their new teammates for the first time, while the re-signed Luis Binks is already part of the fixtures and fittings in what is expected to be a freshened up dressing room in terms of a few more new faces to add to the exciting core of the squad from last season.
Who is likely to be missing?
City’s three internationals taking part in the Copa America for a kick-off. Kasey Palmer and Joel Latibeaudiere have been with Jamaica who bowed out of the 2024 competition with a 3-0 defeat to Venezuela in their final Group B match on Sunday at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. The loss marked Jamaica’s third consecutive defeat in the tournament, concluding their participation without a win.
Palmer and Latibeaudiere will, therefore, be preparing to return back to the UK but are expected to be granted a bit of extra time off before the rejoin their club.
Haji Wright, meanwhile, is due to play in his third game today when the USA take on Uruguay, having beaten Bolivia and lost to Panama, to leave them second in their group, still looking to progress to the knockout stages.
Elsewhere, Jay Dasilva earned his first two caps for Wales last month in friendly defeats against Gibraltar and Slovakia, and it’s unclear whether he is likely to be given a bit of extra time off or whether the full-back will report back with the majority of the squad today.
Who else won’t be there?
Well, sad as it is to see, but Callum O’Hare is officially out of contract and a free agent and will, therefore, not be expected back at City as we await to see which club he is set to join after declining the offer of a new contract with the Sky Blues.
What about injured players?
The good news is that fan favourite Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is expected to be fully fit and raring to get stuck into his first full pre-season with the Sky Blues after recovering from a nasty back injury from last season.
Fabio Tavares, meanwhile, will be knocking around but may be a few weeks behind due to recovering from an impact injury that ruptured ankle ligaments in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United. Robins said at the time: “He will be out for a considerable amount of time. Hopefully he’ll be back in training at some point during pre-season.”
Any doubts over anyone else?
There may be other players leaving the club in the coming days and weeks, players like Matty Godden who has been strongly linked with interest from Oxford United and Charlton Athletic. But, for the time being, any players who may be the subject of interest, bids or negotiations are still expected to start their pre-season programmes.
There has been speculation about the futures of goalkeeper Ben Wilson and full-back Jake Bidwell as well.
Who are you excited about seeing in pre-season? Tell us in the comments section here.
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