Season › 2015-16 › News McCarthy back on the sidelines with groin problem Lyndon Lloyd , 30 December, 21comments | Jump to most recent Spurs game too soon for Jagielka James McCarthy has been ruled out of this weekend's match against Tottenham Hotspur after being withdrawn from the game against Stoke through injury. Roberto Martinez confirmed at his pre-match press conference this morning that the Irish midfielder suffered a recurrence of the groin injury that he suffered against Bournemouth and kept him out for most of December. McCarthy was named in the starting XI for the first time since the last match of November at Vitality Stadium but he lasted just 26 minutes of Monday's defeat and had to be replaced by Tom Cleverley. Cleverley had to be taken off himself in the second half with an Achilles injury and Martinez indicated that the club's medical staff will find out the results of scans on that problem today. The manager also cast doubt on Phil Jagielka's involvement in Sunday's clash with third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, saying that the game will likely come too soon for the defender who is back in training. The club captain has been sidelined since October with a knee injury and Martinez says he stands a good chance of returning for the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City on 6th January. Reader Comments (21) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Darryl Ritchie 1 Posted 30/12/2015 at 17:10:24 Time for Besic to get some game time? Frank Crewe 2 Posted 30/12/2015 at 17:12:00 Should never have been picked in the first place. Some physio RM is. He was rushed back because Martinez panicked. He'll be out for months now. Trevor Lynes 3 Posted 30/12/2015 at 17:17:00 Injuries are the norm for this time of year and that is why big clubs have big squads of top players. This is every season's make or break period and clubs with small squads need luck to be able to continue the season successfully.Luckily we have reasonable options in midfield with Besic, Gibson, Naismith and Osman to plug gaps but some positions have poor cover and this should be addressed during January.Goalkeeper, Right Back and Striker are positions with virtually no cover. God Help us if big Rom gets injured as he has been absolutely immense of late. If we are to hang on to players like Stones, Barkley and Lukaku we will need to show positive intent during January’s window.We were supposedly after Shaquiri but missed the boat and now we are being tapped up for an unsettled Naismith. We must buy before letting anyone leave otherwise we are sending the wrong message to our best and youngest stars. Martin O'Sullivan 4 Posted 30/12/2015 at 17:43:17 If we don't win this then the pressure is really on RM and I agree should never have been picked... Just another mistake.. Andrew James 7 Posted 30/12/2015 at 19:36:16 Darryl (1) - I really hope you are right. I am a big fan of Besic but like all players, popping on the pitch for the odd 10 minutes here and there is not always enough to get your rhythm and settle into a team. He a great player but I just hope we have the sense to show a little patience with him whilst he builds his confidence. Shame about Macca and Jags both unavailable. We certainly need to start realising the massive potential this squad has. Its the leaking of too many goals that has been our issue - going forward has been refreshingly exciting. Christy Ring 9 Posted 30/12/2015 at 21:21:29 Martinez brought back McCarthy too soon, and rested Mirallas and Lennon for the Stoke game. CLUELESS comes to mind. Peter Cummings 10 Posted 30/12/2015 at 23:54:34 Just finished watching the lousiest game of football from Sunderland I’ve seen this season, not a spark of entertainment over the 98 minutes yet here we are now four points adrift of that lot when they should be eating our dust.Really dreading Sunday's game now that there’s more bad news on our injury front. Jags was supposed to be good for mid December according to Martinez but we all know what a load of garbage he spouts on injuries and Spurs will probably licking their Kane-inspired lips for this one. Keith Monaghan 11 Posted 31/12/2015 at 00:25:27 Re Jags, it will be crazy for his first start after his long absence to be against Citeh.The players who need to be rested are those who do not to put in effort for 90 minutes i.e. Kone, GD & Ross – the team needs to defend as a team – GD goes missing & Barkley hides when the opposition have the ball – never get close enough to an opponent to prevent them receiving a pass. Tony Cheek 13 Posted 31/12/2015 at 09:25:38 Need players like McCarthy to be fit, but to be quite honest I prefer Cleverly in midfield. I know that McCarthy is a typical "in your face" player that disrupts the opponent’s rhythm, but Cleverley is a more offensive player that always looks like he might get on the score sheet. I wouldn’t mind betting that he has already had more shots at goal than McCarthy and just gives us another dimension going forward! Kim Vivian 14 Posted 31/12/2015 at 11:25:16 ".......we need to make sure he's at 100% before he can come back into challenging for a position in the team."A soundbite from RM as reported on the Beeb. This makes it sound as though players have to compete to get their starting place back! Is RM turning over a new leaf? Trevor Lynes 17 Posted 31/12/2015 at 12:50:28 All these fringe players are paid very well to slot into gaps and earn their pay. Mirallas should come to the fore and show why he must be kept. Likewise for Naismith, Besic and anyone else on the payroll.There was talk of Pienaar being virtually ready a couple of weeks ago so surely he can provide half an hour of top effort if required. Harold Matthews 19 Posted 31/12/2015 at 14:26:56 Cleverley is not in competition with McCarthy. When everyone is fit and well, he will play a more suitable forward role. Gary Edwards 20 Posted 31/12/2015 at 14:59:54 Kim (#10),Martinez turning over a new leaf? ... it would be nice to think so but the reality is that his arrogance (or plain ignorance) dictates that he is correct in what he does and that there is no need for change / new leaf or such. He’s lost and so are we each day that he remains in our employ. Jim Hardin 21 Posted 31/12/2015 at 17:32:11 If Naismith really is sold, then can we spend the money, or some of it, on Doctor Eva? Tony Cheek 22 Posted 31/12/2015 at 17:42:56 How do you see the three in the middle then Harold? Barry, McCarthy, Barkley, without Cleverley or....? Brian Denton 23 Posted 31/12/2015 at 18:05:25 Jim (#15).Seconded! Patrick Murphy 24 Posted 31/12/2015 at 18:16:26 EFCTV have just tweeted that Macca may be out for another five weeks – that’s a big blow to the team and him. Get back injury free soon James. Steavey Buckley 25 Posted 31/12/2015 at 23:25:59 Ever since McCarthy was injured against Bournemouth he was facing a fitness test every game after that. Now facing a recurrence of the same injury, he will be out for 5 months. With the misleading report, at least gave hope of a fitness test every game. Harold Matthews 26 Posted 01/01/2016 at 07:04:11 Yes Tony, Cleverley for Kone, where he can play his fast United stuff with Barkley and Lukaku, get in the box and try to score goals.Now we hear that McCarthy is out for a while. Not good news at all. We don't want Cleverley there. I watched him closely the other day and though he provided a great assist for Lukaku, he's not a natural ball winner. Much more suitable would be Besic who has been coached for the role but his slow motion cameo against Newcastle doesn't inspire confidence. Martinez is trying to bring him up to speed in slow steps after his hamstring trouble but these latest injuries have landed him on the horns of a dilemma. We'll be up against a big strong outfit who take no prisoners but our defence, especially Stones, will prefer them to Bojan and his quick clever mates and another good contest is expected. Eddie Dunn 27 Posted 01/01/2016 at 11:35:48 I agree Harold, Cleverley is capable of adding to the creative side of our play, and has good vision as well as good pace and the ability to shoot. It would be good to see him in place of Kone. One wonders why Besic even sits on the bench in Roberto is so reluctant to use him? Geoff Evans 28 Posted 01/01/2016 at 11:50:46 Cleverley gives the team more than None. 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