One thing that can be relied upon in pre-season is that the rumour mill will grind into full flow, often with stories that have absolutely no substance or grounding.
And when a particular rumour is then aligned with a run-of-the-mill player absence, it can cause upset and concern amongst a fan base that quite rightly just wants to know what’s going on.
Such was the case at Kendal on Wednesday night when the team sheets for the first and second half of the friendly were announced.
“Taylor Charters and Omari Patrick have got slight injuries, and we don’t expect them to be out long term,” assistant manager Gav Skelton said. “It’s funny because a couple of people have said things about certain players, and wow!
“Apparently it was on social media, and like I’ve always said, I’m not on there, so it’s interesting because obviously anybody can put anything on it. As far as I and the manager are aware, there’s nothing at all in those rumours.
“It is news to me. That’s not just me batting it back or leaving it outside off [stump]. That is news to me. Omari genuinely has got a knock and hopefully he’s not too long.
“He’s got a niggle, and he’s not here, that’s genuinely it. It’s amazing how whatever it is starts and what people say. It’s news to us in terms of that.
“He got a niggle at the start of training on Monday, we don’t expect him to be out long-term, we expect him, if he can’t make Saturday, not to be too much longer after that. He’s in the building today doing his rehab. It’s a laughable one as far as I’m aware.”
