| INJURY RECAP 2003-2004
Injury news recap 2003/4: www.chairboys.co.uk takes a look back on yet another injury plauged season for the Wanderers.  It was the goalkeeping situation at Wycombe that grabbed most of the injury headlines as the 2003/4 drew to a close. Steve Williams returned in goal after the recalled Frank Talia was injured in training at the end of February. Williams then suffered a dislocated finger in the meeting with Plymouth on Saturday 10th April and with Youth Team 'keeper Tom Gott also in the treatment room, some quick work by Club officials led to Wimbledon 'keeper Lee Worgan being drafted in following special dispensation from the Football League. Worgan made two appearances before being recalled by Wimbledon due to an injury to their first choice 'keeper Scott Bevan, who to further confuse the story, also played for Wycombe earlier in the season. With Worgan gone it was on the phone again and this time it was Aston Villa reserve 'keeper Wayne Henderson who was brought in to make his Wycombe and Football League debut in the game at Brentford on Saturday 24th April. Henderson completed the season between the sticks at Wycombe with talk of a season long loan for the 2004/5 season not materialising as the pre-season programme commenced. Craig Faulconbridge won't look back on the 2003/4 season with much pleasure. His long term injury hanging over from the 2002/3 season saw him return to First Team action in November 2003 but he failed to command a regular place in the team under Tony Adams. He was substituted for 'tactical reasons' during the game with Tranmere on 12th April and did not appear for the First Team or Reserves again that season despite being fit according to sources close to the Club. Meanwhile, Adams went on to suggest that he went to play in Scandinavia during the summer in order to continue his progress. The Wycombe boss said "We haven't seen the best of Craig. He has had a long injury and I think he could benefit from playing in the summer." The idea never came to fruition.
Mark Rogers joined Stevenage Borough in April 2004 after a messy end to his career at Wycombe.
'Ted' had been on loan to Stevenage Borough during February but was recalled to Wycombe due to a suspension to Roger Johnson and injury to Scott Marshall. His previous appearance in a Wycombe shirt had been when he was red carded in the 4-0 defeat at Brighton on Boxing Day. However, on his return to the Club it was then reported that he had a hamstring injury. He eventually returned to training on Monday 18th March and went on to fill in at right back for the games with QPR, Oldham and Swindon. By then he already knew that he did not feature in Tony Adams' plans for the future and had agreed to try his luck out in the Conference with Stevenage. Defender Scott Marshall did not enjoy the best of starts to his Wycombe career. Signed in November 2003 by Tony Adams he was in and out of the side before picking up a hamstring injury during the home game with Brighton on 7th February. He returned to training during March but suffered an immediate set-back when he suffered a reaction to the original injury. He missed the remainder of the season and being out of contract in the summer, it was thought he had played his last game for Wycombe but did in fact join Wycombe for pre-season training in the summer of 2004. Chris Vinnicombe was out of action for a couple of months during the 2003/4 season. 'Vinni' suffered extensive bruising and stud marks following a 50/50 challenge in the game at Brighton on Boxing Day 2003 and after nearly a month out still found it painful to kick a ball. After a couple of run outs with the Reserves he made his First Team comeback in the home game with Luton on Saturday 14th February. At the end of the season he found himself part of the Tony Adams cull. Andy Thomson was ruled out of playing for the majority of the 2003/4 season after undergoing an operation on a knee problem. Thomson, out of contract in June 2004, had already been told by Tony Adams he would not be kept on. 'Thomo' noticed the problem during training in the middle of January 2004 and subsequently went for a scan that revealed damage to ligaments. The operation has hopefully put the problem right but it will around six months before he will able to train again and for the record his appearance at Mansfield in the FA Cup in December 2003 was his last in a Wycombe shirt. Michael Simpson was hit with a rare injury in the home game with Brentford on Saturday 15th November. Simmo damaged his knee ligaments and missed the following week's training. Suspension would have kept the midfielder from appearing in the game at Wrexham the following Saturday but he also missed the home game with Peterborough on Saturday 29th November and the FA Cup game with Mansfield (5th December) before returning for the LDV tie with Colchester on Tuesday 9th December. On the 24th April 2004 Simpson played want turned out to be final game in a Wycombe shirt. The midfielder was injured in this game at Brentford and it was later confirmed that his contract would not be renewed. He later went on to join Leyton Orient.
Jermaine McSporran's move to Walsall on deadline day 2004 came as a big surprise to most Wycombe followers. It came after a fairly injury free season for 'Jocky', although he did injure his ankle in the game with Oldham on Saturday 20th September and consequently was out of action for over a month. On his return, McSporran's form was one of the few highlights of a miserable season for Wycombe.
Gavin Holligan had another injury hit season. He pulled up with a groin strain in the friendly with West Ham on 29th July 2003 and was out of action until the Reserves match with Reading on Wednesday 27th August at Adams Park. He then returned to First Team duties as substitute in the game at Rushden on Saturday 6th September. The 23 year old striker made just one start for Wycombe in 2002/3 when a cartilage injury suffered in pre-season training kept him sidelined until February 2003. Since this latest return he has been loaned out to both Crawley Town and Hornchurch but was injured again playing for the latter and in March 2004 returned to Wycombe before signing a permanent deal with Havant and Waterlooville.
Jonny Dixon missed the opening games of the 2003/4 season following an exploratory operation on his legs to investigate a circulation problem. The specialists couldn't find anything wrong and the 19 year old returned to training after a settling period and made his first appearance of the season against Chesterfield on Saturday 23rd August. The situation with Dixon will be closely monitored as he enters his first full season with the First Team. Unfortunately he picked up a couple of knocks to his knee during Reserve team games in September and was eased back into First Team action before spending a month on loan at Crawley Town along with Gavin Holligan in December 2003.
It was revealed back in July 2003 that Keith Ryan would miss the start of the 2003/4 season due to a hernia operation. The operation took place shortly afterwards and it was estimated that 'Rhino' would be out of action for six to eight weeks. He returned to training on Thursday 28th August and took in a couple of reserve games before returning to First Team duties with a substitute appearance at QPR on Saturday 13th September. Since returning 'Rhino' was his usual reliable self in his 14th season with the Wanderers until a knee injury in late January curtailed his season once again. He went on to miss the remainder of the season, having an operation to remove a particle from another injured area in his ankle during March. He was given plenty of time to recover before starting his 15th season with the club in August 2004.Click here to read the injury recap from season 2002/2003 Click here to read all the latest Wycombe news |
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