Haris Vuckic – The unlucky lad

Will injury inhibit Haris?
It’s now been confirmed that Haris Vuckic is set to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

It’s a blow for the lad as he had been recalled from a loan spell at Cardiff City where he was playing regular games at the right end of the Championship.

Is there a bigger problem here though? Or has the lad just been extremely unlucky? Touted as a wonderkid and aged only 19, the Slovenian can undoubtedly have a bright future ahead of him if he stays injury free. However the last part of that sentence seems to be a bit of a problem for the youngster.

This latest injury is just another in what is turning out to be a long line of injuries. Some of them, such as his broken leg, have just been unfortunate while others could give cause for concern. For such a young lad he does seem to have his fair share of knock and niggles.

I’m not a doctor or anything, but perhaps part of the reason is the sheer size of him. If you’ve seen him up close and personal you will notice how tall he is for a start, and that he has “presence” about him. Not Micky Quinn type presence, just a physical presence that you don’t often associate with someone so young. In short, he’s a beast!

I remember a few years ago a certain Steven Gerrard had similar problems in his formative years. He was forever picking up knocks and strains which was eventually put down effectively to growing pains – physically his body was too big and his muscles, tendon, ligaments, bones and so on hadn’t had chance to strengthen. I see something similar with young Haris.

The problem is that he’s so highly rated, and has impressed largely when he has made brief appearances for the first team, so people want to see more of him. I’m sure he wants to see more game time, and I’m sure the coaching staff would love to give him more game time, but when push comes to shove and a chance opens up for him it ultimately comes to nothing courtesy of another injury here or there.

Naturally it’s too early to tell, but my worry is that the term “wonderkid” is being replaced with “crock” or our Slovenian starlet.

Anyone else concerned?

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

56 thoughts on “Haris Vuckic – The unlucky lad

  1. When I heard he was injured I mentioned it on here on one of the threads and said something like “I’m not convinced he’ll ever make it here” due to his injuries. I was pretty disappointed at the time to be honest and I know we probably wouldn’t have seen much from him this season anyway but it seems like he’s had what, four notable injuries this season? And that is alarming.

    It could be as you say Toonsy-the growing pains and the like, I know it can happen to a lot of young rugby players who are often eased into teams, especially as many of them bulk up ridiculously in the gym and despite being imposing don’t do themselves any favours because the growth is, whilst impressive, pretty unnatural. Maybe Vuckic has this kind of problem as well?

    I just feel that we need to loan him out for a really good spell next season, he seemed to be doing well at Cardiff, whilst a bad point is he may enjoy the experience and want away, chances are if we get Europe he’ll want to stay. Then again if we get Europe he’ll probably be in a fair few of those games….such a dicey situation.

    If he gets injured whilst playing there’s not much we can do, but a lad of his potential needs game time desperately…

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  2. The lad could be anything? Could be a star Could be a ordinary player. From what I have seen of him he has all the attributes to make a real player. Even if fit though Pardew wouldn’t have played him had lots of opportunities before the latest injury and didn’t put him in.
    Felt sorry for him after the bindipper game at the end of december. We tried a new system and it failed miserably. Pardew in his press conference while not meaning it was Vuckic fault it came across that way.
    One of the problems of the Academy is how do the lads get in the first team.
    Vuckic Sammy Fergie Tavernier Inman when do they get a game

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  3. Potential is just that unless you actually do it?

    Haris obviously has potential and once he is over the growing pains he will be AOK. Whether that is good enough for the Toon time will tell.

    Get well soon big boy

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  4. @Newkie
    That is pretty hilarious, I agree with them but bloody hell i hate the fickleness of fans, especially when we expect players to be the loyalest of servants.
    What irks me about Redknapp is that it was forgotten how he left pompey, he royally screwed them over, absolute disgrace. Utaka on 80 grand a week etc, that’s not “wheelin and dealin”, that’s just being an utter ***.

    I think/hope Vuckic is just getting these niggly injuries as a result of growing up, happens to lots of young players, hopefully he’ll be free of them next season, personally I think he needs a full season in the Champ next year.

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  5. No great concerns other than, if we have a young Steven Gerrard on our hands we need to look after him and not push him too hard. He is only 19 and if these are just injuries due to physical development, he should find they phase out as his body catches up.
    Plenty of gym work and put him on a programme like Van Persie is on a Arsenal where his body is strictly monitored his condition and develop his training programme accordingly along with resting him when needs be.
    It’s certainly worked for Van Poodle this season.

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  6. Solano-Aye, Harry’s always been quite the gambler, didn’t work out at Portsmouth, seemed to work so well for Spurs last year in Europe etc. Even if Jol did good work laying the foundations and such, the fickleness of Spurs fans is amazing. Earlier this season he was the best in the league and they wanted England to **** off, now he’s the worst and they want England to take him away 😆

    Hopefully our fans won’t be the same when we find ourselves in a tight spot… 🙄

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  7. Reminds me of Duncan Ferguson, well in stature, beastability and always injured. 🙁

    (wouldn’t borgle his hoos either)

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  8. Just read a fair chunk of that thread Newkie 😆

    …by, they’re an angry bunch aren’t they 😆
    Fksake, they’re still 4th, what are they whining about??
    …some pearlers in there…

    …”I’d take fucking Phil Brown as manager right now, that’s how disappointed I fucking feel”

    :mrgreen: 😆 :mrgreen:

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  9. Newkie@3 Oh my ,there’s some angry peeps on there 😀 Lot’s of panicky petes venting their collective spleens , poor old Arry ,who’d be a manager eh.No wonder he’s banging on about Benny and Sess anything to defect from his shortcomings and tryin to unsettle the Toon collective. Pity for him we all don’t give a **** about him and his poxy team innit. :mrgreen:

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  10. Rod-Aye, the bit about Phil Brown made me chortle too :mrgreen: Would be the perfect choice, in his first season maybe he could stand in the middle of London and lap up the applause as Spurs beat us to fourth by a point. Next season he could then lead them down the ******* 😆

    Kim-Indeed 😆 To be honest, I just want him to have the England job so he’ll stop talking about our bloody players! Hopefully Spurs will drop as well mind, open up a path for us into the CL eventually 😉

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  11. Don’t no what to think about young Haris really ,it is a worry but as others have said may well be growing pains. Iwould imagine the club have Physios and all manner of medical experts looking into his complete bodyframe. I know they can do stuff like access running style ,bone density and dietry deficencies that could contribute to poor stamina etc.Maybe he should take a leaf out of Giggs book and take up pilates , it’s amazing how it strenthens your entire inner core strength , just a thought.

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  12. Newkie@11-The daft thing is ,he will probs be brill for England as it’s lots of burst of short term managing which should suit him no end.He gets to cherry pick any player he wants and do the old arm round the shoulder your the best players in the country malarky and massage all those overpaid egos thing he’s so good at. Short term success is his forte ,it’s keeping it going that lets him down ,so England in little burst should suit him I reckon. 😉

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  13. Kimtoon-exactly, despite being an utter *** I’d have to say he is a pretty good manager. Thing is i’m not really too fussed and whilst pretty much all the England managers I have known have been average or worse, its the players that in the last 10 years or so have been the problem. If Harry does well then that’s all well and good and I wish him the best, just bloody stay out of club management! 😀

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  14. Dont know why,but i truly see Haris Vuckic as the next leader for our current youth batch. 😯

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  15. Makes me really sad to see him constantly injured, bit like taylor (Steven), incredibly promising but can’t keep fit. Haris looks like a right corker of a player, unfortunately he’s made of glass.

    In response to @3
    😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

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  16. Kim/Newkie – those cockneys have very short memories like don’t they. Spurs could quite easily have suffered our fate and been relegated before HR took over. As much as I can’t stand the dodgy git, there’s no doubt he has worked wonders at Spurs and got them some real quality players and have some really good young players coming through.
    The spurs fans have seen some great games in the league and CL under ‘Arry, yet they have a handful of poor results and he’s ruining their club or doesnt give a **** about them anymore.
    They are just stupid!!! … That said, he’s nee Pardew 😉

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  17. ‘arry’s a *****, but can’t believe the fans have turned on him so quickly. They were holding up banners and chanting for him to not go to England, now they want him to **** off. 😆 The fans are also blaming Bale. BALE!! Me thinks Gareth should go to Barca if spurs fail to make CL (i.e we beat them to it :mrgreen: ).

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  18. As a non english person , I think Arry would do a good short term job at in the England job he would be a failure long term, he would stick with the old guard and wouldnt surprise me if he got the job he would bring back Beckham and keep Lampard and what not in the team. England need to start targeting the Euros 16 as a tournament to win. Only my opinion

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  19. Andy-Yeah after looking through their forum some of the criticism of Bale is pretty insane. Here’s an ex-average looking left back who transformed into their best player and virtually single-handedly put them through Europe before going out to Real Madrid. Granted, he’s not as amazing as he has been made out to be on some occasions (By Harry himself-140million? Hah!) but there’s lads on there going on about how one footed he is, can’t score screamers from all over the pitch etc 😆

    Although I have noticed Spurs often allow Bale to roam the pitch and imo he should stick to the left. Probably too late for that now though, once attacking praise gets to your head most players don’t want to do the hard graft 😉

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  20. Newkie
    aye, good thing it doesn’t affect wor benny 😆

    Anyone else listening to Andy Woodman(our goalkeeping coach) on Total Sport?

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  21. Sharpy @18 -Exactly mate, they should be carefull what they wish for,cause with Arry gone and Bale and others fleeing elsewhere they may well end up where they were befor Arry arrived ,well we can hope anyway . :mrgreen: 😆

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  22. Kimtoon
    Like many clubs that are around the top 6 for a few years they believe they have a right to be there. I quite Tottenham however (not harry or the fans though), the team is quite cool and I’m a massive fan of bale and personally think he should be at a bigger club. Would love it if we pinched them and Chelsea for the CL. :mrgreen:

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  23. Darn 🙄 😆

    @27

    Its true, under Bobby and even under KK we developed a sense that we should be in the top 4 year on year…As did Villa only a few years ago.

    Everton have been patient…and credit to them because they’ve never really progressed that much…

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  24. Newkie…they’re fans havn’t, if you go on their forums early on in the season it’s full of alot of Everton fans wanting rid of Moyes…..all changes at the end of the season though :mrgreen:
    They were in melt down when we beat them last year, wanting him out after being outplayed by a “championship” club 😆

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  25. Newkie
    Was actually thinking particularly about Villa, even pundits thought they had and still do have a right to be up here, it frustrates me.

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  26. Richie-True true! I know what you mean, last year wasn’t so bad but last season when we turned them over at their own place with Benny’s goal I remember having a laugh at some toffee articles really slating Moyes. I guess they just slip under the radar because they’re always happyish by the end of every season. Moyes knows exactly what he’s doing, lowering expectations ready for the late season charge 😆

    Andy-Aye I have a particular dislike for Villa nowadays after their pathetic antics when we got relegated. Really wanted them to go down this season but alas, seems they’ve escaped 👿 Still, as long as they’re stuck with McLeish, happy days! :mrgreen:

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  27. About Haris – if he is our brightest prospect but struggles with injuries, I maybe he has to stay with us and not go out on loan. I know it’s likely to mean fewer first team games but at least our medical team can keep a close eye on him and we can make sure that a team who have loaned him are taking risks with him.

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  28. Sharpy was he not called back from loan when he got injured ?
    I still think no matter what the risk are these younguns need game time if we can’t give them it then they have to go on loan, and sure you can’t keep them wrapped in cotton wool and sure they cn get injured in training.

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  29. -Sharpy-Exactly what dave said….though to be fair you have a point with the monitoring. Guess we should hope we get Europa league just for the extra matches that Harris is bound to play in em.

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  30. Dave – I understand your point and agree to an extent because the reserve games just aren’t competitive enough and that’s definitely what young talented players need. The likes of Welbeck, Wilshire and Sturridge prove that if the young player is good enough, they can go out on loan and still have a future with the parent club.
    I just mean that if the young player has been suffering from injuries as Vukic had been before he went to Cardiff, does it make sense letting them go and risk further injury. If our medical team are happy with their fitness then let them go but if not keep them and ease them along with reserve games, I mean he’s only 19 so time is on his side.
    My concern is that if I managed a team and one of my players was only 80% fit and a loanee I had was 80% fit, I’d risk the loanee over one of my own.

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  31. Sharpy I think he would have been 100% fit before they would let him go on loan.
    As for the team playing a loanee that is maybe carrying a knock ? I don’t think they would take chance as it could muck up any further loans ❓

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  32. God it’s **** havin no game to look forward to ,suppose i will have to support the Dippers tommorow ,just sticks in my bloody claw though . Still not happy that if everton go through they would nick Euro spot even if they lose. I know people say you got to have an incentive but surely a feckin trophy is reward enough. How can being a loser bring so much reward. 👿

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  33. Dave – I’m sure that he was 100% fit when he went out of Cardiff wouldnt have taken him, but he hadnt long been back from a broken leg and we have seen how long it took Benny. Haris was younger again and still developing so I’m just saying they need to be careful. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure Haris had a say in it aswell. It’s a fine balance to get it right I’m sure, but I don’t for one second believe that loan players are only played at 100% fitness or risked in any way.

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  34. Dave – if he’s another Dyer get rid of him now!! 😯
    He made a mint from lying back on a physo bed and still is.
    And apparently Marcelino still has a broken finger 😯 😆

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  35. Dyer was just a muppet! Surely Harris won’t in run into a corner flag in training and put himself out for four weeks or whatever it was 😆

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  36. aye pity most players at toon cannot be like colo,how few hes missed,even went more than 2yrs in spain without missing a game through injury

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  37. Icedog-Yeah or Simpson. Hasn’t he played all of this season and only missed the first five last season? He only missed them because he had to play through so much of the CC season with injury too..

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  38. From what I have seen of him he has size and strength, a good left foot and good vision. He has had some pretty average games as well though for a ‘wonderkid’. Whether this is down to injury or what I don’t know. I can’t see him getting in our first 11 now or in the future tbh. He needs to stay fit and play regularly for a championship club for a season first and I just can’t see him doing it, so yes I am concerned.

    I actually think a player of his size should have been coached to be a CF or a Toure type defensive/central midfielder. He is like an attacking midfielder which is strange given his physical attributes.

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  39. Dave – Marcelino clearly lost a yard of pace after that fractured sock he suffered from, it was never properly repaired 😕 😳

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  40. NEWKIE i was never a lover of simpson in the ccc or even in the early part of this season felt that taylor covered a lot for him as balls played in-behind he was like a headless chicken heed spinning like a top,but i will say he has improved a fair bit,but i will wait a bit longer before i comment on him overall for the season,but hes doing canny at the mo 😉

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  41. 2 of the 3 goals of the week on SSN this week are from us.

    Cisse at 3 and Benny at 1.

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  42. lmfao, love this site, 😛 😛 starts off on a subject, then everone uses it as a free text / email service 😉 😉
    i love the kid (if you remember who the subject is) 😥 😥

    not arsed anyway, as long ase the MUKAMS get beat the morro 😀 😀
    looking forward to tommorows topic, keep up the good work boys 😛 😛

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  43. DJG-it is interesting about how Vuckic compares to the classic “attacking midfielder/playmaker” you only have to look at Benny for what they usually look like…

    Ice-yeah I meant more from a fitness perspective, whilst admittedly not one of the most skillful of our players he does play a lot of matches, makes a fair few runs and rarely looks tired.

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  44. Footie these days is a hard physical game. It’s a challenge to get through your teen years at any level and a bigger challenge to move up through the leagues / reserves to first team. Midfield players take more physical punishment than most. Why are we so shocked a growing lad in the thick of the action takes a few knocks? Haris is only 19, physically imposing and a real player, and with a good attitude. He will get stronger, learn how to look after himself, and how to play even better. Give the lad a chance and we have a new improved Viera.

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  45. I wish Haris Would have been Argentinian – they are made of steel and heal fast, look at Collo and Jonas.

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