NOT SO SIMPLE FOR SIMON ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL

If A player finds himself out of the team in the Premier League, he has a fair few zeros in the bank to fall back on. If it happens in non-League football, a livelihood is at stake. Simon Ainge of Harrogate Town finished 2017 having scored only one league goal fewer than Harry Kane despite having been out since August because of a serious groin injury. So serious in fact, it felt like he ‘had been shot’ as an adductor snapped from his pelvis. It sidelined Ainge for five months and when he came back, first-team chances were limited. Now, the former England C forward is waiting to be told whether he has a future at Harrogate, who sealed promotion in last Sunday’s National League North play-off final. ‘I’m not going to lie, it’s really hard,’ says Ainge, one of Sportsmail’s stars to watch in non-League. ‘We’re playing at a level where we need the money and are desperate for success. At the top level, at least they all get paid millions of pounds. When it happens to them, I suppose it is a bit easier to stomach.’ Ainge’s injury came during a trip to Blyth Spartans. He went to shoot, heard a pop and knew instantly it was bad. ‘It was something I had never felt before,’ he says. ‘It felt like I had been shot. It felt like I had an orange under my skin where it had swollen.’ Ainge got back to fitness and joined Wrexham on loan in february in the hope of a big break. Two games later, manager Dean Keates departed for Walsall and Ainge was back at square one. ‘It killed me,’ he added. ‘I was in a similar situation at Wrexham as I was at Harrogate. I would come off the bench for about 10 minutes but it was a bit of a waste of time.’ Ainge was actually signed as a defender by Harrogate in 2016 but a shortage of strikers in January 2017 saw him asked to fill in. He hit four goals in his first appearance as a forward and from then on, he was scoring for fun. ‘I wasn’t the same player after my injury but in hindsight it was going to take me time to get back fit,’ he says. ‘It’s been a bit of a nightmare season.’ And what is the plan now? ‘Have a good summer, get myself in the best condition I can be, then try to score 30 goals again next season. ‘I’m fit, I’ll be going back in flying, ready to go. I’m looking forward to a fresh start.’

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