Football fans rally round player with double leg break
Jake Whitmore, 21, is off work after suffering injury during game
FOOTBALL fans have rallied to support a young player from Barwell who was injured in a game, more than doubling his original fundraising target.
Jake Whitmore, 21, suffered a double break in his leg while playing for Barwell FC in a Southern League Premier Central match against Nuneaton.
A gofundme page was set up with an ambitious fundraising goal of £1,500 to support him while he recovers, but this amount was reached within a day of the campaign going live.
The total now stands at more than £3,200, including £200 from a collection taken at a match between Nuneaton and Coalville.
Simon Mathieson, from Barwell FC, said: “I think it shows that local football fans really value what the players put in, week in week out, for their local club.
“For example, we were playing away on Monday night, a lot of them were not getting home until midnight, the players put in a lot of effort to play for their local teams.
“When something like this happens, this just shows that people feel that affinity to want to give something back.”
Jake said he hopes to be back on the pitch in time for the next pre-season, and he came out to watch Barwell FC take on Lowestoft.
“It’s OK, it’s quite slow but I’m getting there”, said the recovering player, who has already moved from a full leg cast to a partial cast.
“I think it’s a credit to Barwell FC, it’s such a well run club. There are a lot of clubs in non league that are well run, but the whole community has helped out.”
The tree surgeon is on sick pay while his leg heals.
One person who made a donation through the gofundme page said: “Wishing you a speedy recovery. Hope everything goes well for you.”
You can donate to the cause on Jake’s gofundme page.