Paatelainen Injury Blow

[kencar]

From Inverness Courier Online.....

MARKUS Paatelainen could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines after Caley Thistle manager Charlie Christie revealed his injury is worse than first feared.

The Finnish winger had received intensive physiotherapy on his Achilles ahead of last weekend's trip to Motherwell and Christie was expecting to include him in the squad for the game at Fir Park.

But the injury, which Paatelainen picked up towards the end of pre-season, flared up again and following further examinations, the 24-year-old will undergo an MRI scan next week in a bid to identify the exact cause of the problem.

"It's really disappointing because he worked so hard to get fit only to pick up the injury just before the start of the season," said Christie "It's hard to put a timescale on how long he'll be out for, but it could well be a lengthy period."

Should Paatelainen be sidelined for a considerable amount of time then it could mean Christie putting on hold any moves to let one or possibly two of his midfielders leave the club.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Bad news. He must have been getting super fit as I am reliably informed that only true athletes suffer Achilles tendon problems.

[RiG]

Don't think it's a huge loss. I don't think of Marcus as a first teamer and we have players just as good waiting to step in as back up.

[FortressICT]

he looked fine when i saw him outside tesco the other night

[caley100]

Bad news. He must have been getting super fit as I am reliably informed that only true athletes suffer Achilles tendon problems.

  Falling of exercise machine does not count...  even arnie can use an exercise bike.

[Kingsmills]

Not the worst disaster for the club to lose a squad player in an area where we're fairly well provided for.

[Alex MacLeod]

Not the worst disaster for the club to lose a squad player in an area where we're fairly well provided for.

The setback is that we need to lose a midfielder to bring in another defender.

[kencar]

Bit early to be judging Paatelainen he hasn't had many opportunities and managed to score twice last season

[Libero]

Bit early to be judging Paatelainen he hasn't had many opportunities and managed to score twice last season

fair point, despite his limited opportunities last season he still managed to tuck away a couple of goals, i reckon he can and will be a good addition to the first team squad

[Kind of Blue]

I've got high hopes for Marcus.  I hope his injury is not too serious.

[Guest TZagallo]

Hi,

I registered to ask you guys something regarding Markus.

I understand ICT recently got a new manager, different from the man who signed Markus. With this injury that apparently is/was pretty bad (I saw him in Finland a few weeks back still walking really awkwardly, with crutches he didn't want to use), how do you see his chances of continuing with ICT?

If I remember correctly his deal with the club extends to next summer. Do you think he will be given an extension? I'm just wondering if there'd be a possibility to lure him to TPS Turku (Finland) where his brothers already reside (Mixu being the 1st team coach/manager).

Markus' other brother Mikko is a friend of mine but I don't want to ask him because I want to be able to post all relevant info reg. this to a Finnish football forum... :004:

[ElderBoy]

Hi,

I registered to ask you guys something regarding Markus.

I understand ICT recently got a new manager, different from the man who signed Markus. With this injury that apparently is/was pretty bad (I saw him in Finland a few weeks back still walking really awkwardly, with crutches he didn't want to use), how do you see his chances of continuing with ICT?

If I remember correctly his deal with the club extends to next summer. Do you think he will be given an extension? I'm just wondering if there'd be a possibility to lure him to TPS Turku (Finland) where his brothers already reside (Mixu being the 1st team coach/manager).

Markus' other brother Mikko is a friend of mine but I don't want to ask him because I want to be able to post all relevant info reg. this to a Finnish football forum... :004:

u can have him weve got better players

[Johnboy]

He only started in six fixtures for us since he was signed.... 

I hope he makes a full recovery from his injury, but I wouldn't think he will be offered an extension to his contract...

[Guest kingkojak]

he scored in both his first two games!  i think the lad has bags of potential and could be a big player for us.

i'd like to see him stay

[Scotty]

Based on his first few games, I think he could be a good player for us but the injury may have happened at the wrong time for him to get a contract extension as brew wont hav been able to see him in action either in training or in matches.

[clacher_holiday2]

Agree with Scotty, it was bad timing, I've only ever seen him play a game and half for us (thanks to Crossmyloaf).  I think we have better options considering Rankin, Morgan and Hart cant get near the first team, also Zanders a better player in Markus's position.

An extension of 6 months wouldnt be a bad move should he prove his fitness, but he may have to go elsewhere.

[CaleyD]

Paatelainen is a left sided player so I can't agree that Zander is a better player in his position.

Saw Paatelainen a couple of times pre-season and he actually stood out above other regular starters with his performances and I hope he makes it back in to the squad.

Unfortunately when push comes to shove however, the club will have to weight up the cost of keeping him on, especially if he is slow to make it back from injury.  One thing in his favour is that when he gets back to training he'll have Brew in charge of him and there's no better manager in the SPL for driving player fitness.

[Morgan Spice]

From what I have seen of Markus I think he could become a really important first team player if given the chance.  I hope he does recover from the injury and is given a chance to prove himself. Zander and Paatelainen on the wings would be brilliant for when Barry and Roy are done although Roy still has a few years left in him.

[Guest TZagallo]

Thanks for your commentary guys, it was pretty much what I expected because I know he's a decent player.