This week’s injury update brought some horrible news as it was confirmed that midfielder Josh Dixon is to go under the knife for a third time with it confirmed that he suffered an ACL injury during the Central League Cup meeting with Morecambe last week.
“It’s terrible news for Josh that it’s another ACL injury,” manager Paul Simpson said. “He’s had some really bad luck, to get it for the third time is horrendous and I really feel for him.
“For anyone who goes through it, it’s hard, but for a young footballer it’s just horrendous, and we’ve got to make sure we look after him now. He’ll get the best possible care we can give him.
“I’m not sure when the operation will be, I think they like it to settle down for a few weeks, possibly up to a month, and they’ll give him the chance to build his quads up in readiness for the surgery and the rehab that follows, but it will be an ACL reconstruction.
“Like I say, once he’s had that it’s then up to us as a group of staff to make sure the mental side of it is right for him.
“He’ll have Joel [Senior] to work with, which will help them both, and if all goes well with Joel we’re expecting him back around October.
“Josh will probably be January or February of 2023. That sounds a long way off but once he gets into it and gets over the massive disappointment of it, all he needs to think about is getting himself right.
“We’ll do it carefully and slowly with the close attention of the medical staff, then we’ll see where we go from there with him.”
“I was really fortunate during my career and I was never in that position, so it’s really hard for me to say how he’s going to feel,” he added. “I know just getting small injuries is horrible, so it will be tough for him.
“He’ll need the support of his family, us at the club and all the supporters to get him through it. It’s a big challenge for him, but it will make him stronger and hopefully he’ll be fine once he comes through it.”
On the other injuries, he told us: “Dev trained this week, but he’s still a doubt. Tobi is also a doubt because we want to know that his knee is right.
“We’ll also have to check on how Dynel is because he’s been away with a family bereavement.
“We let him spend the week with his family because that’s important in situations like this. He’s back with us now, but we’ll see how he is.”
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