Rooney to Adopt ‘Creative’ Strategy for Plymouth Argyle’s Attack Amid Hardie and Obafemi Injuries

Ryan Hardie, Plymouth Argyle’s longest-serving forward, is among the injured players. Wayne Rooney, the head coach for Plymouth Argyle, has indicated that the team will “have to be creative” with their offensive approach during the Christmas period due to injuries sustained by Ryan Hardie and Michael Obafemi. Hardie suffered a gash to his knee, while Obafemi sustained a groin injury during the 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough. These new setbacks compound existing issues, as Argyle is already without injured forwards Muhamed Tijani, Ibrahim Cissoko, and Morgan Whittaker, who are not expected back until well into January. Hardie is set to miss the remainder of the festive season. The club plans to conduct further tests to ascertain the full extent of Obafemi’s injury, which occurred when he limped off the field within the initial 10 minutes of Saturday’s match at Home Park. “With the games coming up we’ll have to be inventive,” Argyle head coach Rooney stated. He added, “Someone at some stage will have to play out of position, so that’s something I’ll look at.” Rooney acknowledged the challenging situation, remarking, “It’s not ideal, of course, but we’ll have to be creative and try and get the best out of Moose (Mustapha Bundu), Freddie (Issaka) and Tegan (Finn).” He concluded, “One of them will have to play out of position over this next couple of weeks.” Hardie was injured in the second half while sliding to tackle Ben Doak after the Pilgrims lost possession in midfield. The Scottish striker required a stretcher to leave the pitch and is anticipated to miss the upcoming Championship fixtures against Coventry City, Oxford United, Bristol City, and Stoke City during the busy festive schedule. Rooney provided more details on Hardie’s condition, saying, “Initially when they looked at it they thought he’d gone through his tendon.” He clarified, “But it hasn’t, it’s just quite a deep gash which he’s just had stitched up.” Rooney expressed concern about the injury’s location, noting, “It’s in an awful place where it’s right on the bottom of his knee, so bending his leg won’t help it heal.” He confirmed Hardie’s absence, stating, “I’m sure he’ll be out for the Christmas period, so that’s disappointing because I thought he worked really hard today.” Rooney also praised Hardie’s recent contributions, adding, “In the last two games he’s done well for us and we’ll miss him over this period.”