Coventry City suffer ‘massive blow’ as key man’s absence explained

Mark Robins admits Coventry City have suffered a “massive blow” with the news that key midfield man Ben Sheaf has aggravated the ankle injury that kept him out for most of the pre-season.

The Sky Blues skipper had recovered and played the last 20 minutes of Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup tie win over Oxford United, but the player limped off in pain during training at the CBS Arena on Thursday, and now faces further time on the sidelines.

Sheaf has been a huge miss at the start of the new Championship campaign, and his lack of presence was once again felt as City suffered their first home defeat with a 1-0 loss to Norwich on Saturday lunchtime.

“You’re looking for that power, strength, understanding and know-how,” said the manager, reflecting on the game, “and that’s why it was a massive blow on Thursday when we lose him for however long we are going to lose him for.”