Euro blow for Bohs as Heary and Carey to miss Salzburg tie
Tuesday July 21 2009
OWEN HEARY is out of Bohemians' crunch Champions League tie with Red Bull Salzburg tomorrow night, and Graham Carey looks to have played his last game for the club.
Gypsies skipper Heary (32) missed last Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Austria with a hamstring strain and a scan yesterday morning revealed that he requires at least a week's rehabilitation before a return to training is considered.
Meanwhile, Carey is set to return to Celtic, with Bohs resigned to the fact they cannot extend his loan period due to the transfer embargo imposed on them by the FAI as they are in breach of the 65pc Salary Cost Protocol.
On a brighter note, Killian Brennan and Anto Murphy should be fine to participate despite limping off in the dying stages of Sunday night's league win against Derry City at Dalymount Park.
Cramp
"Owen definitely won't make it," said Bohs manager Pat Fenlon yesterday. "Anto and Killian were ok this morning. Anto had a touch of cramp in the game and Killian had a pain in his a***, pardon the pun. A muscle in his backside is a little bit tight, but he should be ok."
The loss of Heary is a setback for the Dubliners, but tempered somewhat by the fact that his replacement, Mark Rossiter, performed well at right-back in Austria and should be able to see out the duration this week after being dehydrated in the first meeting.
Rossiter, who was returning from a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, suffered in the humidity and was taken to hospital after that game as a precaution.
Midfielder Glen Cronin is available again, and is therefore the only addition to the squad which performed so creditably in the first leg. Fenlon would have liked Carey to be a second, but the winger's stint with the champions appears to be over.
"In Salzburg, I was told we were close to signing him," said Fenlon, "But when we got back to Dublin, the picture changed. He was at the Derry game but at the moment he's back in Celtic's possession. I'd obviously like to still be able to bring him in but I don't think the powers that be are too keen. I don't know what will happen, but on Saturday morning he said his goodbyes and such at training."
His absence has opened a window of opportunity for Murphy, who was man of the match against Derry and has given Fenlon a slight headache. In his favoured European 4-5-1 formation, Jason Byrne would start on the right wing, but Murphy now hopes he is in contention -- either way, he expects to be involved.
"Jason did a great job over there so I won't complain if he gets the nod ahead of me," says Murphy. "I'll just keep the head up on the bench, because I'll be needed at some stage as it's going to be tired legs out there."
- Daniel McDonnell
