Ninian Park hospital

Dave Jones

Peter Whittingham joined the rest of Cardiff City regulars after the Crystal Palace match they won 2-1. Reliable midfielder and ex-Aston Villa player injured his ligaments and will be sidelined for at least three months. Manager Dave Jones is faced with a pile of problems and will have trouble staying in the promotion race Welshmen have been successfully running from the beginning of the season with currently sixth place.

Almost all of Blue Birds’ regulars are having injury problems. Team’s first star, young midfielder targeted by many Premiership outfits, Joe Ledley, has broken his finger and will be out for at least a month. Attacking duo, Ross McCormack (league’s top scorer with 11 goals) and Jay Boothroyd haven’t been playing for two months, both of them due to long-term groin and knee injuries. In fact, they practically didn’t play at all this season.

Without the half of his squad, Jones will have to struggle staying in the top race. Return of the striker, Michael Chopra, back to the club he made his name at from Sunderland will not be enough without the appropriate midfield support, so the club will have an active search for loanies over the next period.

No one is immune to “faith slapping you over your face” and the next period of time will be a huge test for Cardiff City and their abilities. If they succeed to overcome the problems, half of the job will have been done and it is clear the Premiership campaign is their reality.

Their recent plays, last season’s FA Cup Finals, and most of all a number of young, high quality players they created and promoted have definitely earned them the right to play in the Premiership in few years time. This might be the ultimate test that will lead them to a successful finish…

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