KNEE OP ADDS TO WALTERS’ FRUSTRATION
ASEASON which Jonathan Walters hoped would reinvigorate his Premier League career has gone from bad to worse. The Republic of Ireland forward was ruled out for up to two months following knee cartilage surgery earlier this week.
The veteran international left Stoke City for Burnley last summer in search of regular first team football and a new lease of life as the Turf Moor club attempted to establish themselves in the top flight.
They have duly confounded all expectations this term, sitting in seventh place ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with Manchester United, but Walters has been unable to make any significant impact. On the pitch, at least.
Off it, even during frustrating periods of rehabilitation, he has fitted into Seán Dyche’s closeknit squad perfectly. Walters’ work ethic has not wavered, even in the midst of an uphill battle with injury.
The 34-year-old missed the guts of four months with ankle and knee problems — including Ireland’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Wales as well as the play-off double header with Denmark.
Walters looked to be on the way back to full fitness from the most recent troubling knee injury when he made a 10-minute cameo appearance off the bench against United at Old Trafford on St Stephen’s Day. He followed it up by playing 15 minutes of the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City earlier this month.
However, the Merseyside-born veteran has been unable to shake a cartilage problem in his knee and after posting a picture of himself on social media lying in a hospital bed, adding in the caption that he was ‘devastated’, both Walters and Dyche confirmed his latest absence could stretch to another eight weeks.
‘Jon Walters has had a minor tidy-up in his knee — there’s a very small split in his cartilage that was annoying him so the decision was made to get it tidied up,’ Dyche said.
‘He (Walters) has had surgery. At his age he knows when it’s right or wrong so we decided it was best to do it. The guideline’s approximately six to eight weeks (out).’
Walters has the comfort of another season after this on his contract. A small mercy but it ensures he does not need to rush this lat- est recovery in time to earn a new deal at Burnley or find something new elsewhere at such a precarious stage of his career.
For someone who turns 35 later this year, that is a stable position to be in. Even more so when you consider Burnley are pretty much certain to avoid relegation and won’t be pressuring him to get back to help them beat the drop.
Still, there will be a cloud of frustration hanging over him as he prepares for another spell on the sidelines trying to get himself right. In response to some well wishers on social media — including former Stoke teammate Charlie Adam — Walters said eight weeks would be a ‘conservative’ time frame for his return.
There really is no need for him to risk doing further damage. At the start of this season, the former underage cross-country star in the north of England insisted he still felt good enough to carry on ‘for another few years’ beyond his current deal which runs until the summer of 2019.
He may not feel like it now, laid up recuperating and feeling of little value to his teammates, but Walters is better off taking all the time he needs to ensure his career goes the distance and isn’t cut short by injury after injury. FINN Harps last night paid tribute to their former first team kit-man, Terence Murray, who died in Letterkenny on Tuesday. Terence was a loyal supporter of Finn Harps and took on a series of voluntary roles at the club. He was also a long-serving chairman of Strabane cricket club.
Finn Harps said: ‘We are all deeply saddened. The club has lost one of its biggest supporters who made a huge contribution.’