Injury is such a pain

The Athletic star writes every week for Chron Sport


IT HAS been a week of mixed emotions: we gained a much-needed home win against Carlisle only for personal satisfaction to be marred by injury.

Saturday’s match was only 15 minutes old when I hobbled off the pitch with an ankle injury. It left me devastated: I was just starting to get to a good level of fitness after a recent run of games.

On first assessment by first-team physio Jon Guy it seemed I had damaged ankle ligaments. To what extent has to wait for the scan results.

The incident was a strange one. In blocking a clearance, I felt a twinge but didn’t think anything of it.

A few minutes later, I had a weird sensation in my foot. I glanced down to see a sack of swelling bulging through my sock and I knew my afternoon’s work was over.

But at least we got the three points and another clean sheet, which was brilliant.

Everyone was in high spirits for the midweek trip to Molineux. But in football lows can follow highs very quickly: we lost to a strong Wolves team.

Being unavailable for the game, I shadowed Chronicle reporter Matt Chambers as part of my university degree work placement. But watching from the stands is tough, though, when all you want to do is play!

The gaffer set the team up a little differently to contain the opposition and frustrate the home crowd, which in my opinion was working very well until a lapse in concentration and an individual error led to the first goal, early in the second half.

At that point personnel and tactics changed and the play opened up, leaving us 2-0 down.

Being injured is without doubt the worst part in a professional footballer’s life. Whether it is long or short term, any amount of time on the sidelines is frustrating.

Day to day rehabilitation becomes monotonous. Continuously doing the same things can affect you and your moods, and attitudes tend to change.

You are at your lowest point, but as long as you see progression then you can at least try to remain upbeat.