Yeovil Town manager Terry Skiverton has welcomed the loan signing of Swansea City midfielder Shaun MacDonald. The Welsh international has agreed a three month loan deal earlier today and will be available to play in Saturday's match against Brentford.
Speaking to BBC Somerset, Skivo explained that his wait for MacDonald was due to Swansea midfielder Ferrie Bodde finally making his comeback from a 10 month lay-off after a cruciate knee ligament injury last November put him out for a lengthy period. Bodde has come on as a substitute for the Championship side in the last two matches, pushing MacDonald down the pecking order, and with Darren Pratley also expected to return from a shoulder injury soon, Skivo was able to persuade the Swansea management team that now was the right time for Shaun to go out on loan:
"I know the quality that Shaun has got. He's someone who can get about the pitch. He can be aggressive in the tackle. He's the captain of the Welsh Under 21s team. He's just been recently called up into the full squad, but with the abundance of midfielders that they've got at Swansea with (Ferrie) Bodde and (Darren) Pratley nearly coming back, it was a chance for us to strike whilst the iron is hot. It's been something that's been going on for quite a while now and I'm really pleased to bring Shaun in."
Whilst on the subject of MacDonald's international credentials, he will almost inevitably be missing during the weekend that Yeovil Town play Brighton and Hove Albion. As a player who has recently been called up into the Welsh senior squad against Russia and also back in June for their match against Azerbaijan, he stands a chance of being called up for the Welsh FIFA World Cup Qualifying match in Finland on October 10th, which takes place four days before a Wednesday night match in Liechtenstein.
If MacDonald doesn't get called up for the full national squad, then his captaincy of the Under 21s side means that he will play against Bosnia-Herzegovina on the Saturday lunchtime in a UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifying match.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy could be required for England Under 21s match against FYR Macedonia, also in the UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifying stages. However, that match is due to take place on the Friday, and with McCarthy notionally the third choice keeper at that level, there is a fair chance that any call-up may leave him free to return to Somerset after the game without any involvement in that match.
Defender Steven Caulker and midfielder/striker Ryan Mason will definitely be absent on international duty for England Under 19s, whilst Jonathan Obika is currently with the England Under 20 squad, preparing for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and may still be in Egypt on that weekend.
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21 September 2009 : 
