Battling back was tough but now I’m fighting fit
SALFORD CITY’S CAPTAIN ON HIS LONG RECOVERY FROM NECK INJURY... AND THAT RETURN GOAL
“FOOTBALL’S a funny game isn’t it?” laughs Liam Hogan.
It’s nearly a month to the day since the Salford City captain marked his return from injury with a goal and a clean sheet against his former side Tranmere Rovers – his first appearance since leading his side out at Wembley in the National League play-off final in May.
“It was great to reward myself for all the hard work and help the lads. The performance was about making sure I was at the right level, I didn’t want to come in and disappoint or be a weak link.”
That single line gives you all the insight into the 30-year-old that you need to know. It’s been a long road of recovery for Hogan, who initially thought he’d merely slept on his neck awkwardly before a scan revealed he’d slipped a disk in training, but it’s been a journey motivated by the task of returning to help his side.
“The demands of the game are tough, so you have to make sure you’re fully fit.
“It was a bit of a freak one. The disk was pressed on the nerve, so it had to be removed and a metal disk is in its place, so it’s more solid than it ever was. That’s probably where the goal came from – off the screw!”
Manager Graham Alexander underlined the severity of the incident, having witnessed a former team-mate, Ryan Kidd, have his football career prematurely end at the age of 30 – the same age as Hogan – by a similar injury in 2001.
The Salford boss said: “Losing Hoges was a major blow to what we were doing, because we’d worked on the majority of pre-season with him in the team. He picked up a nasty injury, which was quite a delicate situation.
“We’ve tried to have a lot of common sense with his rehab because you don’t want to mess with someone’s future life. You get an injury in your neck [and] it’s important that we do everything right and we haven’t cut corners or rushed him along.”
Lenny Johnrose, a team-mate of Kidd at Preston North End, recently visited the Ammies’ Partington training complex, with his presentation on motor neurone disease after his diagnosis in 2017 proving an inspiration according to Hogan. “It touched the lads. You don’t really think about things like that when you’re out there playing. Your health is secondary. You just want to be out there performing well, but there’s always a bigger picture. Your life and family are more important. “You need to be protected when you’re out there. Anything freakish can happen and you need to have everything in place to manage certain scenarios that could possibly occur.
“There’s a lot of people behind the scenes at football matches, even further down the levels, with things like spinal boards and ambulance availability and accessibility, so the right help’s there now.”
And the Salford-born defender admits his absence from the field has taken its toll mentally, with his club initially struggling to cope with the demands of the Football League. “It’s been really difficult. With the success that we’ve had (since joining), you want to be part of it and keep the story going. I feel like I’ve come a long way personally with Salford and it really means a lot to me, so it’s been disappointing to miss out.
“It’s up to me to make sure my performances are spot on and I keep myself in the gaffer’s focus. You’re constantly pushing yourself to earn that place.”
You just want to be out there performing well but... your life and family are more important
Liam Hogan