Eelco Schattorie: I will decide if Mario Arques will play tomorrow

The Kerala Blasters head coach also pointed to the lack of a pre-season as the reason for growing injuries.

Ahead of his side’s home game against Jamshedpur FC, Kerala Blasters head coach Eelco Schattorie interacted with the media in a pre-match press conference on Thursday. Both sides will lock horns at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Friday evening in an attempt to get back to winning ways, as both clubs had drawn their respective last two games in the league.

On Mario Arques

The absence of Mario Arques has been a huge blow for Kerala Blasters. The Spaniard came into the team with an injury, but managed to make an appearance as a substitute in their season opener against ATK, before being stretchered off again. While the Spaniard has returned to training, Eelco Schattorie stressed the importance of having to take his return step-by-step.

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"Mario is fit now. A player having an injury that long, the process, the protocol is that you play at least two or three games, gradually increasing in time. But, we don't have that infrastructure. Mario is fit, but not fully. So, either he is going to play tomorrow or not, I will make that decision. Its a very difficult situation to work with because to be honest, I'm more a long-term thinking coach," the Dutchman said.

On Other Injuries In Squad

Mario Arques' injury is not the only one that is bothering Eelco Schattorie, as other foreigners like Jairo Rodrigues, Gianni Zuiverloon, Vlatko Drobarov, Moustapha Gning and Bartholomew Ogbeche have also had their fair share of fitness concerns. Addressing the constant injury issues in the squad, the Kerala Blasters head coach pointed out that not having a proper pre-season campaign was the reason for it.

"If you go on a pre-season, normally you plan the pre-season at a minimum of six to eight weeks. We plan where to play the games and around those games you plan conditioning sessions. So, you work backwards. Because the pre-season got cancelled, that was not the club's mistake, we had to come back and we still had to start planning the games. That makes it very difficult, that part played a big issue," the 47-year-old explained.

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On Coping With Concerns

Eelco Schattorie has not shied away from laying down the reasons for why his team has been struggling in the league this season. While many of the Dutchman's concerns are true, his constant explanations have seen him receive criticism from the fans. With that in mind, the former NorthEast United boss has vowed to find the best solution for his team.

"I promise to work on getting the best possible solution. But, its something we have to work with now. We have already made progress here and things always can be improved," Eelco Schattorie quipped.