Cats will wait for a verdict on Jones

Jul 18 2008 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

KENWYNE Jones will definitely miss the first two months of the season as Sunderland wait to discover whether their star striker needs a knee operation.

Jones suffered ligament damage during Trinidad and Tobago’s friendly international against England back in May, but while there is no chance he will be able to start the Premier League campaign, manager Roy Keane is still hoping he will be back before Christmas.

The former Southampton striker will revisit a specialist at the end of the month to determine whether he needs an operation – and a lengthy rehabilitation – to clear up the problem.

But Keane is clinging to the possibility his most successful signing will be able to return to training without surgery after captain Dean Whitehead had a similar lucky escape last year.

“A lot has been said about Kenwyne’s injury,” said Keane, who knows further injuries to key players during pre-season could be a disaster for the club. “But the latest I can give you is that there is clearly knee ligament damage and he will go back to the surgeon in two or three weeks.

“We hope he won’t need major surgery, we will know for sure in two or three weeks. It’s all in the hands of the surgeon and we are just waiting for the injury to settle down. As long as we can avoid major surgery we’ll be relatively pleased. We had a similar situation with Dean Whitehead last year, but we left it for five or six weeks and, fortunately, Dean didn’t need the surgery and was back in three or four months. We’ve got two or three weeks to play with, but we can definitely rule Kenwyne out for first month or two without doubt.”

Given his importance to the side last term, Jones will be sorely missed, although the Black Cats are still trying to sign England international Darren Bent from Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs are looking to recoup the £16.5m they invested in Bent, 24, when they signed him from Charlton Athletic last summer, but Sunderland will not offer that much after his poor first season at White Hart Lane.

Keane added: “Kenwyne’s injury has not had any impact on my transfer policy. I’m still looking at certain players I want to bring to the club anyway. I’m disappointed, we’re going to miss him, but it’s not changed my attitude about what players I want coming to the club.”

Keane has also warned Jones that he must prepare himself for the worst if he is going to deal with the mental side of a long-term injury. He said: “It’s a different test for Kenwyne being injured. When I was out for a number of months it can be hard, not physical, it’s mental. I do believe that as soon as someone said to me that I was out for six months, I’d aim to be back in four.

“You make that happen and we hope if the surgeon says he’s out for three or four months, Kenwyne will be back in two or three. He’s missing pre-season, though, which is vital for every player.”