By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie
Jordan Summerly has confirmed his commitment to Ashington FC – only manager Andy Coyles has described it as being like a brand new signing!
The North Shields-born defender was forced to leave the field after 35 minutes of the home clash against Carlton Town in mid November after sustaining a knee injury which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
However the 27 year old is back in training – even though he admits that he is taking things one step at a time: “I had surgery on my knee a few years ago before I joined Ashington,” he said, “I had a big tear in my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) and a tear in my meniscus, the latter which they repaired and when I thought I had heard a ‘pop’ in the game against Carlton, I wondered if I had finished off my ACL or torn something else. It wasn’t fun being on the sidelines as I’d much rather have been on the pitch playing than watching. By the time the season ended, I had been out for five and a half months but if felt longer. However, last week we started pre season training and I’m easing myself back in. The signs are positive and I’m hoping to get some game time in the warm up matches.”
Summerly has been boosted by comments he has received: “When I attended our Northumberland Senior Cup game at home against Newcastle U21s at the beginning of May, numerous fans said to me ‘I hope you’re back next season’ – and that was something which filled me with confidence knowing that they wanted me to return. Also we’ve got a great dressing room at Ashington and I have definitely felt the same warmth and sincere messages coming from the whole of the management team and my team mates – so again that motivated me.”
Manager Andy Coyles said: “It was a huge blow when Jordan got his injury because he had started the season exceptionally well. We brought Charlie Exley in but we had a bit of bad luck when both Jordan and Charlie were ruled out in and around the same time. Jordan will be the first to admit that he’s got a point to prove but first and foremost he needs to get back up to full speed and full fitness. However we’re excited; he’s excited and so far in pre season he’s been excellent. It looks promising at the moment but I suppose we’ll find out more when we dip our feet into the pre season games. If we can get Jordan back up to speed and can get him playing like he was at the start of last season, it will feel like a brand new signing and we’ll all be chuffed to bits.”