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Barnsley: Three major injury concerns ahead of trip to Wigan
Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel could have to plan without three key players for the weekend’s Championship clash at Wigan.
BBC reported that goalkeeper Samuel Sahin-Radlinger will definitely miss the game with a knee injury, while defender Bambo Diaby and striker Cauley Woodrow are also likely to be ruled out for the match at the DW Stadium.
BBC added that former Barnsley player Kieffer Moore could miss the game against his former club, having been injured in Wigan’s defeat to Middlesbrough recently.
Sahin-Radlinger had played in all five of Barnsley’s Championship games so far this season before injuring his knee.
Having kept a clean sheet on his debut against Fulham, he has conceded nine goals in his subsequent four games, with an average of 3.8 saves per match for the Reds.
In his absence, Brad Collins is likely to deputise, having featured in the Carabao Cup against Carlisle earlier this month.
He did concede three goals to League Two opposition in that game, although he was beaten only 32 times in 31 league matches at Burton Albion last season.
Like Sahin-Radlinger, Diaby has started Barnsley’s first five Championship matches in 2018/19 alongside Mads Andersen at centre-back.
The 21-year-old has averaged 5.6 clearances per game this season, by far the most of any Reds player, and has also recorded the most blocks with 1.4 per match, as well as having the second highest passing success rate in the squad with 80.1%. [via WhoScored.com]
Aapo Halme will likely come in for Diaby at centre-back, with the Finn appearing off the bench in Barnsley’s last two Championship outings against Birmingham and Luton. [via TransferMarkt.co.uk]
Halme has won 1.5 aerial duels per game this season, not much lower than Diaby’s average of 1.8, but did not won any tackles or record any clearances in his two substitute appearances, while he posted a poor passing accuracy rate of just 57.7%. [via WhoScored.com]
Woodrow’s probable absence would deprive Stendel of a player who has scored one of Barnsley’s paltry tally of four goals from this season and averaged 3.3 shots per game.
Mamadou Thiam, who started up front in place of the injured Woodrow against Luton last week, recorded four shots in that game without scoring and has not found the net in 293 minutes of gametime so far in 2019/20.
With Barnsley getting just one point from their last four league games and lying 21st in the table, the absence of key trio Sahin-Radlinger, Diaby and Woodrow is far from ideal and would require the likes of Halme and Thiam to step up in more convincing fashion than they have so far this term.
However, with Wigan beneath them in the table and scoring just four league goals themselves, as well as probably being without Moore, this could be an ideal chance for players such as Collins, Halme and Thiam to seize their chance and show Stendel that they are capable of making their presence felt in the starting XI when called upon.
Barnsley fans, how big of a worry is the list of injuries at the moment? Join in the discussion by commenting below!
