Thursday, December 13, 2007

FC striker won't need an operation

13/12/2007

SUPER striker Stuart Rudd has given FC United an early Christmas present with the news that he will not need surgery on a troublesome knee injury.

The big number nine has been missing for most of the season with the cruciate ligament complaint and it was feared that he would need to be operated on, ruling him out for the rest of the campaign.

But a visit to a specialist on Monday morning resulted in the Wiganer getting the all clear.

The news could not have come at a better time for FC as they face losing current forward Aaron Burns in January. He will leave to join a league club when his contract with Cardiff City expires.

Burns has spent the last two months at United due to league rules stipulating that he is not allowed to play above UniBond level and now Rudd looks set for a February return to the side.

Manager Karl Marginson said: “It’s great news for Ruddy and for us as he has had a really frustrating season.

“Aaron has come to us and done an amazing job but he won’t be here forever so the news that Stuart will play again this season couldn’t have come at a better time for us.

“It’s not just his quality up front that we have missed but his presence too.

“It’s been a really tough season for us with many disruptions and that began with Ruddy getting injured in pre-season. He came back and got injured again, which sums up how it’s gone for us. Getting him back would give us a real lift.”