The injury list is growing at Oriel Park with midfielder John Mountney facing another spell on the sidelines after limping off in the .
Mountney missed the opening two months of the season after tweaking medial knee ligaments in the Malone Cup against Drogheda United back in January.
The boy from Bohola has been one of Dundalk’s key men since returning from the lay-off six weeks ago but the prospect of another lengthy absence is looming after he damaged the same knee in the first-half on Tuesday night.
And with Sean Gannon, Stephen O’Donnell and Karolis Chevedukas already out, Lilywhites boss Stephen Kenny said Mountney’s injury was the last thing he needed.
“We’ve got four league games in the next 10 days so it’s a big blow to us and John will be a big loss. He has been in terrific form and playing the best football of his career,” he told Dundalk Sport afterwards.
“He wasn’t meant to be in the team initially,” he added. “Krisztian Adorjan was due to start but he picked up an ankle injury in training on Monday that ruled him out. He failed a fitness test beforehand so that’s why John was in the team.
“We’ve had four impact injuries on joints now: John’s knee, Sean Gannon’s ribs, Stephen O’Donnell’s broken leg and Karolis Chevedukas’ ankle, so we’ve been very unfortunate but we just have to accept it and move on.”
Turning his attention to O’Donnell, Kenny said he had real concerns about the severity of the broken tibia that his captain sustained in the 2–1 defeat to Waterford on Friday night.
O’Donnell is due to have an operation this week but after a consultation on Tuesday, it appears the injury is more complex than was first imagined, and there are growing fears that the 32-year-old might not kick a ball again this year.
“Stephen went to see somebody today and he’s due to have surgery this week. It’s not straightforward. We were hoping it would be, but it doesn’t seem to be,” said a visibly concerned Kenny.
“There is no timeframe yet,” he added. “I was thinking at the time it was a straightforward, clean break but, going by the news today, it might not be. We’ll just have to wait and see how the operation goes but it’s just devastating for him.”
Kenny also said that Sam Byrne missed the win over Bohemians after failing to shake off the hamstring injury he picked up against St Patrick’s Athletic last Monday.
Adorjan and Dan Cleary, who is also suffering with a hamstring strain, are rated doubtful for Friday night’s league encounter with Sligo Rovers at Oriel Park.
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