THE Newcastle Jets are taking an ultra-cautious approach with Ben Kantarovski as the club's most-capped player struggles to overcome a career-threatening injury.
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Kantarovski, the midfield veteran of a record 196 A-League games for his home-town club, has not played a competitive match in more than 12 months after suffering a back injury last season that eventually required complex surgery.
The 29-year-old was troubled by recurring calf and hamstring issues before eventually opting for an operation in April to repair a problematic nerve in his lower back.
He had been hoping to avoid the surgery, telling the Newcastle Herald last March it was "a very last resort".
"That's quite a drastic and risky surgery, so we want to stay away from that avenue, but if it does come down to it, we may have to look at that," Kantarovski said in March.
Barely a month later, he underwent surgery but unfortunately for the former Young Socceroos captain, it has not provided a quick fix.
Jets coach Arthur Papas admitted Kantarovski had encountered "a couple of setbacks" during the pre-season and was still unable to participate in full training. The majority of his teammates have been training intensively for two months as Papas strives to transform them into "the hardest-working team in the A-League".
That would suggest Kantarovski is playing catch-up, although the likelihood of a delayed start to the season because of coronavirus could work in his favour.
"Ben is still unfortunately carrying some of the issues he had throughout last season," Papas said.
"We're just supporting him through that, and we're just hopeful we can get a fit Ben Kantarovski back on the field, because he's our most-capped player and has been with the club since he was 16 years of age."
Papas said Kantarovski had been "working really hard" on his rehabilitation and recovery.
"The main priority is he gets healthy and fit enough to give himself an opportunity to play, and we're going to support him through that," Papas said.
"It's about helping and supporting him to get back into that position, to give himself a chance to get his body back to what we know it can be, and what it used to be.
"What we know is we've got a top player, a champion player of the club, in the background coming back to contribute.
"But it's not so straightforward at the moment."
One factor in Kantarovski's favour is his resilience in bouncing back from serious injuries.
He needed a full reconstruction of his right knee in 2010, and had further surgeries on the same knee in 2012, 2014 and 2016. He has also spent time on the sidelines nursing various soft-tissue injuries and a broken jaw.
Yet each time he has bounced back to reclaim his berth in the starting line-up.
Meanwhile, Jets executive chairman Shane Mattiske has declined to discuss a website report linking Newcastle to former Arsenal and England midfielder Jack Wilshere.
Wilshere, 29, is a free agent after parting company recently with English Championship outfit Bournemouth.
"We're not in the practice of commenting on player recruitment or negotiations," Mattiske said.
At 16 years and 256 days, Wilshere was Arsenal's youngest-ever first-team debutant and he was subsequently capped 34 times by England, before suffering a spate of injuries.
Whether any A-League club can afford to sign Wilshere remains to be seen.