I watched it on replay and it looked so much worse. It was very bad.
- KOSTA GROZOS
JETS co-captain Brandon O'Neill trained lightly on Tuesday and is confident of being fit to take on Macarthur as his teammates condemned the challenge that left the midfielder in agony.
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O'Neill was taken out late by Sydney fullback Rhyan Grant in the dying stages of the Sky Blues' 2-0 win at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
It was O'Neill's return match from a strained medial ligament in his knee and the impact zone was in the same spot.
The joint was still swollen after training on Tuesday but O'Neill was confident that the injury was "just a cork".
"I did some running today," he said. "I'll see the medical staff this afternoon and get some scans. We will see how it settles down but I'm pretty positive."
Grant, who was given a yellow card, clattered into the inside of O'Neill's right leg after the midfielder had passed the ball.
"I saw it live during the game and didn't think it was that bad," Jets midfielder Kosta Grozos said.
"I watched it on replay and it looked so much worse. It was very bad.
"Brandon was coming back from a knee injury as well. It is not what you want to see."
Jaushua Sotirio was also highly critical of Grant's challenge.
"Watching it in slow motion, it didn't look pretty," the Jets winger said.
O'Neill had returned two weeks earlier than expected from the knee injury he sustained in the 1-0 loss to Brisbane on December 16.
Grozos and Sotirio are hoping his recuperative powers come to the fore again and the midfielder is right for the crucial clash against the fifth-placed Bulls at Campbelltown.
"I hope he does play because he brings a lot to the team," Grozos said. "His leadership, the way he talks, the way he plays ... he is energetic and brings the boys up."
Sotirio labelled O'Neill a "beast".
"Brandon trained which I was surprised at," Sotirio said. "He is a beast and is looking to be back on the pitch and in the game.
"Hopefully he is in good shape. He is an important player in the team, he is a leader and we hope he is back."
The Sydney loss was the Jets' fifth game in 21 days. Grozos started in that match and also in the 1-0 win in extreme heat in Adelaide.
"Coming off a tough but good win in Adelaide, we hoped to back it up in front of a very good crowd on New Years Day," he said. "It wasn't the case but we move on. We don't dwell on our losses. We focus on what we need to work on and hopefully we get the job done this week.
"Now we have a full week, we get to re-energise and refocus. I'm sure the boys will be fit and have lots of energy."
Macarthur, like the Jets, have mixed their form.
That thrashed Sydney 3-0 on Christmas eve and were then thumped 4-0 by Wanderers on New Years Day.
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
