James Harvey‘s injury woes continue this season, with the Gold Coast Blaze announcing that he is once again sidelined with calf problems that have troubled him for some weeks.
Harvey returned to action last week, on the road against the Sydney Kings, scoring 10 points in 22 minutes. However he has only been active for eight of the team’s 13 games this season and the continued injury comes as the Blaze face a double this weekend.
According to a release from the Blaze:
Harvey, who has been on a reduced training load all season and has been a week-to-week proposition for most of the season, re-injured his calf during training in Perth on Wednesday and has made the trip home to the Gold Coast.
Scans will reveal the full extent of the injury, and help give a timeline to him returning to the active list.
The injury opens up an opportunity for exciting young Development Player Brendan Teys, who has been very impressive in training and had a fantastic QBL season in 2011.
Teys has joined the playing group in Perth and is set to play in both road games this weekend.
Harvey recently became the first Blaze player to rack up 2,000 points for the club. He is a founding member of the team, who has been a top-notch scorer since his debut in the 1998/99 season with the Perth Wildcats.
However, the Blaze have struggled with consistency this season. Harvey realising this recently echoed his coach’s thoughts after the Kings loss, telling the Gold Coast Bulletin:
“I think everyone’s sick and tired of hearing about how talented we are,” he said. “It’s no longer about that, talent doesn’t win games.
“On paper, I’m sure if you talk to opposition coaches and players they’d be saying this is the most talented team in the NBL and probably the most talented Blaze side we’ve had.
“But I think we’re all over that now because at the moment our record isn’t reflecting that.”
