News

Skovira on family illness leave

Tweet

Slovakian sniper Miroslav Skovira flew out of Manchester for his homeland on Monday having received distressing news from home about his father.

Skovira Snr has suffered a heart attack and the club agreed without hesitation to allow the player to return home to visit his family.

Phoenix coach Rick Brebant commented, “It’s unfortunate for us that this has happened now, but not as unfortunate as it is for Miroslav and his family. With Eric Lind and Shin Larsson-Yahata both having left the club this weekend, the last thing we needed right now was to lose any other players, even for a short time.”

Phoenix are next in action on Saturday when they again travel to Northern Ireland to face the Belfast Giants and Brebant added, “right now, we’re not sure if Skovy will be back in time for that trip and even if he is, how his visit to his father may play on his mind. We’ll make that decision as and when we know his movements but right now I’m already basing my thinking around him not being available for that game. Obviously our immediate concern is for his father and his family, it cannot be nice to have something like this happen at this time of year – we send our best wishes to Mr Skovira with Miroslav.”

Brebant confirmed that his search for players could bear fruit quicker than expected. “We got a break today on a forward who if he agrees could be here for the weekend and we’ve got a positive report on a defenceman who might be available before Christmas. We’re keeping our fingers crossed because there is not a lot out there and other clubs are searching too.”

Brebant has also been contacted over Shin Larsson-Yahata and he noted, “It’s amazing how quickly the news gets around. I’ve had a coach from Europe ring me about Shinny and if my assessment helps him get a job, then I hope it works out for him. Shinny is a good guy and I wouldn’t want him to be without a club too long.”

Player Profile

• Profile for Miroslav Skovira