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Barker Determined To See Rams Safe Before Surgery!
Barker Determined To See Rams Safe Before Surgery!
Friday, 25th Feb 2011 09:28 by Daniel J Sewart

Nigel Clough has admitted he has great admiration for Shaun Barker’s determination to play on even though it has been revealed he will require a knee operation either at the end of the season or sooner.

Barker has been unable to join his team mates at training at times this season but Clough has revealed that he has been unable to even get on the track this week.

The player continues to push through the pain barrier to ensure the Rams are safe before he ends his season and has the surgery his knee requires.

The injury is nothing new but the continual problems now mean that the only hope of permanently putting the problem behind him is for a spell on the sidelines.

Nigel Clough spoke about the injury and his defenders determination:

“Shaun will need something doing to his knee at some point which will probably keep him out for about 12 weeks, there’s never an ideal time for this type of thing but we’re going to have to try and find it.” 

“His time out has to encompass the two month break in the summer – May and June – in order for him to be ready for pre-season training. In an absolutely ideal world we will get him operated on at the start of April with a view to him being back by then. But, of course, that depends on us being where we want to be in the table.” 

“Shaun was fit when we signed he but got a thigh strain pretty much straight away,” Clough said.  He carried that and then got his knee problem. So he’s never really been fully fit since we brought him here but he’s still out first-choice in that position.”  

“Really, it’s remarkable that somebody can play to that level with little or no training. It’s very difficult to step back into a game and for it all to click into place when you’ve not been involved all week.”

With the likes of Addisson only recently returning from injury, Leacock out for the last 3 matches with illness plus Buxton and Anderson still recovering from injury, the Rams could ill afford to lose Barker as well.

That said, the risk involved in the Rams vice Captain continuing to play is obvious. You can hope he can be nursed through games until his team are safe and sound from the threat of relegation but the threat of more serious injury resulting hangs over his head.

One thing is for sure, playing through the pain barrier for the good of your team and not putting himself first is something far too rare in modern football.

In fact the type of stuff a future Captain’s should be made of.

 

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