O’Connor goes under the knife

OLDHAM full-back Paul O’Connor was admitted to hospital today for an operation to repair a torn muscle in his shoulder.

The Chronicle’s player of the year damaged the shoulder early on in the 28-match cup and league campaign, but he insisted that if he needed surgery it would have to wait until the season’s end.

“That’s typical of him,” said club chairman Chris Hamilton. “He deserves great credit. He battled on for most of the season, often in pain, but for obvious reasons we kept news of his injury in-house. Very few people were aware of it.

“Despite carrying the shoulder, he had a fantastic season. It was always the intention for him to have the operation as soon as possible after the last game and with that in mind he saw the consultant a couple of weeks ago and arrangements were put in place.

“It will severely restrict what he can do for the next three months.”

In the season just ended, the 26-year-old former Widnes Vikings man played in each of the club’s 28 cup and league matches, running in 19 tries to finish joint top of the club try-scoring list with Mick Fogerty and Lucas Onyango.


CHRIS Hamilton and club chaplain, the Rev Tony Ford, represented Roughyeds at the funeral in Widnes on Wednesday of 30-year-old former Widnes and Oldham winger Chris Percival, who recently lost his battle against cancer.