O’Brien & Rose Back, Bott Still Out – Women's Fitness News
- Shannon O’Brien and Deanne Rose are back with the squad following injury
- Both could play a part in Sunday’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fixture at Derby County
- CJ Bott is still out of contention with a muscle complaint, Willie Kirk confirmed
- The LCFC Women Manager also shared an update on Hannah Cain’s progression
LCFC Women enter the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, drawn to face fellow Midlands side Derby in the fourth round of the competition. It’s a 3pm GMT kick-off at Don Amott Arena and ahead of the tie, the Manager provided an update on several members of his squad.
Having not played since October due to a quadriceps issue, forward Shannon O’Brien is now back on the training pitch and available for selection this weekend, as is Canadian international winger Deanne Rose following her spell on the treatment table with a hamstring injury.
“It’s good,” Kirk revealed, speaking about the availability within the team. “Better than we were before the winter break, that’s for sure.
“We’ve had a couple of colds and viruses, as you do at this time of the year, but nothing major that should upset us too much going into the game.
“Shannon O’Brien and Deanne Rose are back on the pitch. It’s been great to get them back available.”
New Zealand full-back CJ Bott is still out of contention, however, having not recovered from the injury which saw her miss City’s final fixture of 2023 against West Ham United.
“CJ is still out,” he explained. “It’s just a really niggly one, a muscle injury. She’s had a bit of an illness as well, which has impacted on her rehab and how many sessions we’ve been able to do with her. She’s back on the grass today (Thursday) but she’s certainly miss this weekend.”
Hannah Cain’s recovery continues, meanwhile, having ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament on international duty late last year and Kirk outlined how the mental side takes just as much of a toll as the physical aspect, especially given the fact it is the forward’s second ACL injury.
“She’s had the operation, which was successful as far as we’re aware,” the Manager added, sharing an update on her current progression. “She’s just been working through the rehab. We all know the steps and what boxes we have to tick to progress through it.
“Physically, she was in the pool this morning. She’s doing really well and has been in and around the group. We try and keep her spirits up. She’s a bubbly character but has her ups and downs as you would expect with it being her second major injury.
“She’s still been able to impact the group in certain ways but it’s still a big blow for us to lose her. We need to deal with that and Hannah has the difficult task of dealing with it mentally.”