Coventry will be without key striker Haji Wright against Arsenal, Frank Lampard has confirmed.
Wright was Coventry’s top scorer last season, netting 17 goals in the Championship winning campaign and thus helping the side secure a return to the Premier League after a 26-year absence.
The Sky Blues have the daunting task of facing the Premier League champions away from home in the opening game of the new season and hopes of pulling off a shock result have been hit by the USMNT’s absence.
As revealed by Lampard in the pre-match press conference, the 28-year-old will miss the trip to the Emirates Stadium and could be out of action for up to 12 weeks because of a quad injury.
“Haji Wright won’t be available for the Arsenal game,” Lampard told reporters. “He won’t be available for a little while, he’s got a very serious quad injury which is disappointing for Haji and for us.
“It’s certainly going to be a number of weeks, could even be up to 12 weeks.”
In Wright’s absence against Arsenal, Lampard could hand Taiwo Awoniyi or Sidiki Cherif a Coventry debut with the pair arriving this summer from Nottingham Forest and Fenerbahce respectively for a reported combined fee of just under £30million.
Another option to lead the line in north London is Ellis Simms. The former Everton youngster scored 13 Championship goals last season, a return only bettered by Wright across the entire Coventry squad.
The good news for Coventry, however, is Ephron Mason-Clark and Jack Rudoni are both in contention to face the Gunners after experiencing fitness issues during pre-season.
