Chelsea step in to perk up Jody

Sep 19 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

DEREK McInnes is hoping Premiership giants Chelsea can point star midfielder Jody Morris on the road to recovery.

The Stamford Bridge club have rolled out the welcome mat for their former player as Morris bids to solve a hamstring riddle which has so far prevented him making an impact this season.

Saints head for Dumfries tomorrow and another tricky away game at Queen of the South, but morale in the camp has been boosted by an impressive victory at Ross County.

Morris, along with skipper Kevin James, remains sidelined for the Palmerston match.

But Perth manager McInnes is hoping Chelsea can play a key role in getting the vastly experienced midfielder’s campaign up and running.

It was the start of the Champions’ League this week, with Chelsea thrashing Bordeaux and now gearing-up for a weekend tilt at champions Manchester United.

But that hectic schedule didn’t prevent the Stamford Bridge backroom team ensuring Morris has enjoyed access to one of the most sophisticated sports medicine set-ups in European football.

Morris remains close friends with England international pair John Terry and Frank Lampard and that relationship paved the way to the Stamford Bridge treatment room.

McInnes explained: “Jody has been down in London since last Sunday getting treatment at Chelsea. We felt more advice was needed because his hamstring problem has been baffling us.”

While many Premiership clubs dispatch highly paid stars to a German doctor with close ties to Bayern Munich, the London giants have access to their own highly regarded medical team.

McInnes said: “Jody spoke to people he knows from his time at Chelsea and they were more than happy to advise us on the way forward. He has been getting treatment all week. He took in Chelsea’s Champions League win and had more treatment late that night.

“The methods have had a very good success rate and we’re hoping it gets Jody back playing for us sooner than might have been the case.

“It involves a series of injections in the hamstring, calf and backside and he also had an epidural. It’s all designed to improve recovery time. Chelsea have their own scanning equipment and that is also helping with ongoing assessments.”

McInnes confirmed Morris had enjoyed a timely morale boost after recent hard work culminated in the disappointment of a setback during a closed doors game with Hearts.

“Jody is very positive about it now. And I feel he needed a boost. He didn’t want to go through all the rehab again only to suffer another disappointment.”

Morris and James are missing and Saints also head south tomorrow without strikers Peter MacDonald and Steven Milne, who picked up one match bans after being red carded in a costly 3-0 reserve defeat from Cowdenbeath.

Midfielder Kevin Moon is listed in the squad, although he is short of game time.

It’s a trip to the opposite end of the country but McInnes hinted that he could announce a same-again starting 11, having secured a positive result in the Highlands last weekend.

“Dingwall and Dumfries are both difficult venues and Queens have assembled a better squad than they have had for many years.

“But we got the win we needed against Ross County to restore confidence and got our reward for hard work, spirit and determination. “Tough as we expect it to be in Dumfries, we are confident and hopeful of another three points,” added the Perth boss.

“We’re only five points off the top. It was a good journey back from Dingwall and we’d like the same mood back from Dumfries.”