Coulson Crocked!

Last updated : 24 April 2008 By Rob Miles (barnsley Boy)

Young striker Michael Coulson is set for around eight months on the sidelines after rupturing his cruciate knee ligaments in a freak training ground incident.

Coulson who has impressed in substitute appearances this season, did the damage after turning awkwardly and will spend a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Physio Richard Kay told www.barnsleyfc.co.uk:

"It looks as though Michael has completely ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament. We have sent him for an MRI scan and have provisionally booked him in for surgery in three or four weeks time. It was just another freak accident. Michael is the kind of lad who never, ever stays down and he did not get back up.

"We are looking at a timescale of between seven and nine months. It is the same length of rehab that Heinz (Muller) and Anderson (de Silva) have had to face".

There have also been rumors spreading that defender and Player of the Year favourite Stephen Foster could be ruled out for the final two games of the season with a calf problem. Foster has been struggling in training this week but the club are hopeful he will be fit for Saturday's crunch game with Charlton at Oakwell.

And finally, striker Kayode Odejayi has been called up to the Nigeria squad! Yes that's right KO is set for some international football!!

The big striker who has struggled in his first season at Oakwell, but who scored the goal to knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup has been called up by the Super Eagles for three crucial matches in May and June.

They face Austria in a friendly in Vienna on May 27 before kicking off their 2010 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa (June 1), Sierra Leone (June 7) and Equatorial Guinea (June 14 and June 21).

Odejayi told www.barnsleyfc.co.uk:

"It was a massive surprise to get the call. To be honest I thought it was a wind up and I was not sure whether to believe it. The paperwork has come through now and I am looking forward to joining up with the squad.

"There are some very, very good players in the Nigerian squad so to get called up into that company is massive for me and a huge boost".