O’Hare made his final appearance for the team on Boxing Day of the previous year, which was prior to October 25, 2023. After just seven minutes of the Sky Blues’ match at Bramall Lane against Sheffield United, the attacking midfielder sustained an injury that would sideline him for over a year.
O’Hare suffered Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) damage, and manager Mark Robins subsequently announced that he will miss the remainder of the 2022–2023 campaign. Until that terrible moment, he had three assists in 11 games, and we would not see him on the field for nearly a decade.
Although Robins described it as a “huge blow” for the team, it’s easy to assume that he and the other players have been thrilled to have him return because his plays have helped this team break out of a rut.
After 13 games, Coventry was ranked 20th in the Championship table before O’Hare returned from his ACL injury. They were just six points above the relegation zone and had just one point advantage over Huddersfield Town. However, they are currently only one point behind Hull City in sixth place and are in the running for the play-offs, sitting seventh in the league.
They would be ranked sixth in the standings if O’Hare’s comeback had been the starting point for the Championship. Since Coventry’s 25-year return, only Southampton, Leeds United, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town (the current top four) have outperformed the team.
Converting good opportunities was Coventry’s major weakness at the beginning of the season. Ellis Simms and Haji Wright were the two key forwards the Sky Blues brought in to try to replace Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer, who were lost to injury in the summer. Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was another player they signed, although he is a winger and cannot play in the middle of an attack.
Coventry was creating many of opportunities, but players like Wright and Simms were unable to take them in. This might be explained by them still getting to know the club, but for Robins, it was a serious issue. Wright has only scored eight goals from an xG of 11.69, the highest in the league, despite having had a much better stretch of the season, according to FotMob. Simms’ xG of 6.09 has resulted in six goals, which is similarly terrible.
