JER WOE CAUSES SHAKERS’ STRIKER SEARCH
BURY boss Chris Lucketti admits a striker is now at the head of his January shopping list after top scorer Jermaine Beckford was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.
The 34-year-old veteran joined the Shakers from Preston in the summer and notched eight goals in 16 games, but he hasn’t played since a 1-0 defeat to Doncaster in October.
Beckford looked in contention to return against Portsmouth last weekend but suffered a setback and underwent surgery earlier this week. It’s something Lucketti admits is a bitter pill to swallow.
“It’s a massive blow. He is key to this football club – he’s our top scorer and talisman,” said the manager.
“He travelled and trained with us all last week and was in contention up until Friday, but he had a reaction to his knee and, from that reaction, he’s been to see the surgeon on Monday and went into surgery.
“We need to improve certain areas and, with the loss of Jermaine, that is now an area we will look to try to improve in January.”
Bury were bottom of League One heading into the weekend, but one positive for the Shakers in recent times is the return of Nathan Cameron.
He came back from seven weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring complaint last month.
Prior to that, cartilage damage restricted the 26year-old defender to just five games between February 2016 and this August, so he is understandably ecstatic to be fighting fit once more.
“I’m loving it,” said Cameron. “It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was a little boy. I feel like I enjoy it even more now because I appreciate it more, after all the injuries that I’ve been through.
“I’m getting my sharpness through games. I’m feeling a lot better and the more I play, the more consistent I can be.”