Mark Robins earmarks Coventry City man for January transfer
Mark Robins is already planning one bit of out-going Coventry City transfer business for January with the news that Fabio Tavares could be set for a temporary move. The Sky Blues striker was due to play for the under-21s against Birmingham today as he continues to build up match fitness and sharpness following almost a year out with a ruptured Achilles.
Tavares was trying to break through from the development squad to the senior set-up this time last year when his progress was cruelly brought to a halt in the FA Cup clash with Wrexham in early January. The 22-year-old has been working hard in training and got through his first hour of competitive football with the under-21s recently.
Asked what the next step was for the young player, and whether there will be an opportunity for him to break into the matchday squad over the busy festive period, Robins told CoventryLive: “He will be around training, but he’s been out for almost 12 months, similar to Callum (O’Hare). Fabio was still trying to break into the side at the stage where he got injured. That set him back and we’ll look to see what we’re going to do with him, but he’ll be playing in the under-21s again today.
“But he needs to play, so the chances of him going out on loan are fairly high in January. These are the conversations that we’re having at the moment so that’s where we’re at with Fabio. There’s been no hard and fast decision been made but with that in my mind, that may be where that leads to. Fabio is aware of that and we’ll just see how he goes and see how he accelerates.”
Ultimately, Tavares needs game time to get his career back on track and a half season loan might just be the opportunity he needs get back to form and fitness and push again next summer.
“That’s the hope,” agreed Robins. “With everybody, they’ve got to try and get as close as possible. But obviously when you get an injury like that it sets you back because he’s been out for such a significant period of time. It takes time to get back to where they were. And clearly, he was still trying to get close to the team at the point of his injury.
“So I think that shouldn’t be forgotten either. He’s worked hard to get himself back fit and playing, and that’s the first part. The next part is to get himself to tip-top peak form and his timing right, his movement right and his understanding of the game. And all of those things will start to come. But we’re just going to have a real good look at what happens in the next few weeks and make decisions on the back of that.
