Iron caretaker manager Russ Wilcox has expressed sympathy for striker Connor Jennings after a calf injury curtailed his loan spell at Skrill Premier outfit Macclesfield Town.
The 22-year-old had been enjoying a fantastic campaign with the Silkmen, topping the division’s goal-scoring charts with 14 goals and having recently been named as the Skrill Premier Player of the Month for November.Jennings had been set to stay in Cheshire until the start of January, but recently picked up the seemingly innocuous dead leg which would soon prove to be far more serious than first realised.
The striker has since returned to Glanford Park, but is currently in hospital following a series of operations, and now faces a lengthy spell on the side-lines.
The injury has come at the most inopportune moment for Jennings considering his run of form, and Wilcox told The Iron Player: “He’s had his third operation and it’s been a very, very tough time for Connor.
“Obviously they’ve opened him up to relieve the pressure that was there with a dead leg, and then they have to stitch it back up, so they’ve stitched the inside of the calf on Saturday and the outside on Sunday.
“He’s still in hospital at the moment and he’s not in a great way. It’s a really, really tough blow for him.”
The goal-scoring exploits of the one-time Stalybridge Celtic striker had not gone unnoticed by Wilcox, who admitted Jennings may have been set to feature in his New Year plans upon his return from Macclesfield.
That now seems unlikely to happen - for the short-term at least – and Wilcox added: “I only spoke to him on the Wednesday about coming back here and hopefully getting opportunities to show us what we’ve been missing this last couple of months.
“He’s got 16 goals, and is at the top of his game, so it’s a big blow for Connor. I think that’s the key to it – the fact he’s been doing so well.
“Sometimes you pick up injuries in your career when it’s not going so well for you and sometimes that’s a bit of a relief to come out of the firing-line. When you’re firing on all cylinders like he has been, and you’re top-scorer – he’s ‘hot property’ at the moment – to have that taken away from you is a big blow.”
The set-back comes at a key stage of Jennings’ development, and Wilcox admitted the youngster has a challenging few weeks ahead, adding: “Psychologically it’s going to be a big test for him. He’s still a young lad, but he’s certainly shown in the last few months what he’s about.
“We’ve got to get him going again eventually and get his rehab done here. The hospital are monitoring his situation but the main part of the operation is out of the way.
“Hopefully he can stay at home with his family over Christmas and come back to us in the New Year so we can start his rehab.”
The unusual nature of the injury makes it near-impossible to put an accurate timeframe on Jennings’ recovery, and Wilcox confirmed his physiotherapy team had never come across the exact medical issue before.
For this reason, the caretaker boss is keen not to rush the forward’s rehabilitation process, and added: “Everybody heals at different rates. He’s still young which gives him a head-start on people, but I’m sure it will be a couple of months at least.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, Sam Slocombe and Deon Burton on The Iron Player ahead of the weekend.