Chris Skitt talks about Town's injured players
Shrewsbury Town Physio Chris Skitt is hoping the Town squad are close to full fitness as Junior Brown looks set to return to training.Skitt has given an update on how Brown and fellow injured player Joe Riley are getting on and he also spoke about Shaun Whalley’s return to the side.
“Junior’s missed about a week with a neural issue in his hamstring, which is coming from his back,” Chris told ShrewsWeb.
“He’s missed a couple of days training, but we’ve done and extensive session today (Tuesday) as well as a gym session, which really pushed him and he’s come through that okay, so we will be looking to get him into the next step of training.
“The plan, provided that he has no reaction to today’s session, will be for him to join in in full training and see how he goes from there.
“One of the main reasons of reoccurring injuries and in particular hamstring injuries is that people haven’t concentrated on the nerves that run through that area and it’s vitally important that we make sure that Junior is ready to go and that both sides of the nerves and the muscle have been dealt with.”
Joe Riley underwent a successful knee operation a couple of weeks ago and Chris is hopeful that with the right recovery, he could be back in around a month.
“With Joe we discussed the work/life balance he was having,” Skitt said.
“He was getting through games fine and performing well, but then the impact of that was that he wasn’t training and he was spending near enough all day every day on his ice machine, trying to get the swelling down.
“We had to bite the bullet and we are hopeful that this procedure will tidy everything up and he’ll be good to go with no issues for the rest of the season.
“Joe’s come out with two 1cm scars either side of the knee and the actual operation itself takes 20 to 25 minutes to do and is relatively straightforward and relatively routine for those doing it, but for us as physio’s we’ve got the work to do in terms of retraining the muscles and making sure everything’s working to how it should be.”
Meanwhile, Shaun Whalley’s return to the side on Saturday saw him secure all three points with a 97th minute winner. Whalley celebrated by running to Skitt who had helped him return from a difficult calf injury.
“I was made up for Shaun,” said Chris.
“He’s worked very hard and I think he’s said himself that he’s not the type of player who likes to be out for any amount of time. He moans when he misses a day, let alone the 5 and a half weeks he did miss.
“His work rate throughout that rehab, even in the days where he was a little bit down, he came in and applied himself brilliantly, and I’m really pleased that someone with that ability can come and prove what he can do.
“I think when they’re injured they don’t like me so much, because I work them quite hard, but you do get close to the players and you have to deal with them being upset with their injury and deal with them in the right way so that it inspires them to get back out there and do it in the safest, but quickest amount of time.
“It was really nice when Shaun came over. I was really touched by it and it’s testimony to everybody in the medical department.”