EXETER City defender Johnly Yfeko is expected to be out until Christmas after picking up a hamstring injury in the recent League One clash with Reading.
The 21-year-old Londoner has been excellent for the Grecians since arriving on loan from Scottish Premier League side Rangers, but manager Gary Caldwell is expecting to be without the powerful left-footer for the foreseeable future.
“Johnly will be out for a number of weeks with his hamstring, it’s not as bad as it could have been, but it’s still going to be eight to ten weeks, which is a blow but, as I said, it could have been even worse than that,” Caldwell said.
“When you get that kind of news, you fear what it could be, but that isn’t as bad. He is a young player that works extremely hard and will be back the quicker side of that.
“It’s a big blow because he’s been amazing, he’s a young player with a big future ahead of him. We will take care of him and look after him in this rehab and get him back on the quicker side of the timescale we’ve been given.
“He probably needed a little break physically anyway because he’s played a lot of football for a young player that’s never played at this level before. I always think these kind of things happen for a reason.
“He will work hard, he’ll come back and he’ll be better for his experience he’s had so far in League One and he’s a player with a massive future.”
The Grecians have a deal in place to sign Yfeko permanently from Rangers, but Caldwell says there is no real developments in getting that done just yet. He added: “That’s in place and we are in control of that, so we will dictate what happens with that.
“Everyone has seen the quality Johnly has now and also the potential he has. He’s a player that, should we choose, will be with us for a number of years.
“That’s in our favour and we will assess that throughout the season and at the end of the season, we will make a decision on that.”
Other than Yfeko, the Grecians are in good health ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup first round clash with national league high-fliers Barnet with the squad boosted by the return of Demetri Mitchell, Vincent Harper and Reece Cole. All three played a part in Tuesday’s 3-2 EFL Trophy win at Bristol Rovers and are in contention to be involved against the Bees.
“Demi, Vinnie and Reece all came through the game on Tuesday well and will all train today,” Caldwell said. “We will see how they are in terms of what role they play on Saturday; there are a couple of niggles – Jack McMillan won’t train today from a knock, but will hopefully be OK tomorrow.
“We have quite a full squad to pick from, even though there are nine substitutes on Saturday. One or two players will still miss out on the squad which is a really good place to be and shows the numbers and the quality in the squad is there.”
Demi Mitchell of Exeter City celebrates after scoring during the Bristol Street Motors Trophy Match between Bristol Rovers and Exeter City at Memorial Stadium on 29 October 2024. Photo: Geraint Nicholas/PPAUK
It is a great position for Caldwell to be in as well and the kind of headache all managers love to have. “It’s brilliant and a great place to be,” Caldwell said. “We have not had that opportunity this year because of injuries, so to get the players back and have a squad that’s competitive and pushing each other is great.
“We showed in the second half of last season when we had that how the results really improved and we became a lot more consistent.
“We have started this season well, even though we have not had the numbers we would have liked with those players coming back, it gives us problems in terms of leaving players out of the team, but it also gives the team a real competitive edge to hopefully consistently win games and take us further up the table and progress in both Cup competitions.”
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