Signed by Tony Mowbray in March 2016, Jodi Jones is currently the club’s longest-serving player. Two-and-a-half years ago, he was, by some distance, the best player in the squad, almost single-handedly looking to carry the Sky Blues out of League Two via a series of searing performances characterised by both skill and end product. An innocuous blow during a midweek away game at Stevenage in November 2017 has seen Jones spend nearly three full years in injury hell, which he’ll be hoping to prove this season that he has fully recovered from.
Turning 23 years old within the first month of this season, Jodi Jones is fortunate that there is plenty of his career ahead of him if his injury problems have indeed been put behind him. While his pace had been one of his key attributes before his injury issues, he played with a level of skill and composure to suggest that he can be effective even if he isn’t as fast as he was before. Even though the club is now two divisions higher than it was before Jones’ injury issues began – and also plays a system without wide attacking players – Jones has the technical ability to make that step up, the key thing will be in him building up the fitness and confidence to make an impact on games.
There is still a lot of work for Jodi Jones to do to break back into the starting line-up but if he is anything like the player he was before his injury issues began, he could be an ace in Mark Robins’ sleeve at some point this season. That said, expectations on the potential impact Jones can make have to be counterbalanced by the understanding that it will take time for him to fully recover both physically and mentally. This season for Jodi Jones is about getting back on the pitch and working towards getting a run of starts together – whether that’s here or on a confidence-building loan move.
Sideways Sammy 