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Agony for Elliott
Story courtesy of
One reckless challenge has left Gresley Rovers defender Scott Elliott facing a tough fitness battle for the second time this season.
The 24-year-old full back feared the worst the moment Stapenhill’s Tony Coppinger clattered into him in Tuesday’s Moat Ground friendly.And those fears were confirmed at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, in the small hours of Wednesday morning when x-rays revealed that Elliott had fractured his leg for the second time this season.
Elliott said: “I more or less knew what the damage was, so I went straight from the ground to hospital and at about 1 o’clock in the morning the doctors told me the worst.”
In his comeback game, he had fractured the very same fibula that forced him out for six weeks after being injured at Rocester in early September.
Elliott said: “The injury had healed OK, but the impact was so great that the bone snapped again. It was a one in a 100 chance I suppose, but you could say I wasn’t pleased with the tackle.
“It’s just not my season and it’s going to mean I’m out for another six weeks at least. It will probably be the New Year before I play again. I’ll just have to take my time. There’s no way I’m going to rush back – but Gresley fans can rest assured I will be back, I’m absolutely certain of that.”
As a club, Rovers were unhappy that Coppinger escaped any punishment for a tackle that could have ruined a talented player’s career.
“When the ref didn’t do anything about it, I thought Stapenhill might have taken him off as a gesture,” said Elliott.
Typically, Rovers’ manager Frank Northwood was more forceful and made his feelings known to the Stapenhill contingent.
