Critchell will come back stronger says Weymouth boss (From Dorset Echo)

Critchell will come back stronger says Weymouth boss

8:45am Friday 1st March 2013 in Sport By David Williams, Sports Reporter

BRENDON King has tipped Kyle Critchell to come back as strong as ever after the midfielder was ruled out for the rest of the season.

The courageous Terras’ defender is recuperating at home with his right leg in plaster after being hospitalised by a challenge in the defeat to Wimborne on Wednesday.

The full extent of his injury will only be known next week but Weymouth manager King has confirmed he won’t play any further part in the current campaign.

King is hoping that Critchell’s misfortune can spur his side on at Hitchin Town tomorrow (3pm) where the Terras are also without the suspended Ed Palmer and Danny Clay.

The former was sent off in the 1-0 Dorset Senior Cup semi-final reverse against Wimborne and could miss as many as four games.

With Critchell, King and Clay missing this weekend King told Echosport he is looking to make an emergency loan signing to bolster the squad.

“We are going to be up against it at Hitchin but hopefully something like what happened to Kyle will galvanise us,” said King. “Kyle (pictured below) is an important part of our team and it’s very disappointing for him and the club.

“On behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to thank all the people who have phoned and texted me with messages of support for Kyle, it shows what people think of him.

“His leg is in plaster but we won’t know the full extent of the damage until next week when he has got an appointment at the fracture clinic.

“I spoke to him yesterday morning and he said he came home from the hospital at about 3am.

“He was quite positive and upbeat but in a bit of pain and it’s really frustrating because he was playing well in the middle of the park.

“I’ve seen these things before but they were dealt with, this wasn’t.

“It was not a nice tackle and it means we are going to lose a player for the rest of the campaign but he will come back stronger next season.”

King added: “We are going to be missing Danny, Ed and Kyle for Hitchin and just as we get into a good position it’s one step forward, two steps back.

“I’m going to try and get someone in on loan and I’m working hard to find a player to strengthen the squad.

“I’m making phone calls so we’ll just have to see what we can do.

“Hitchin are flying at the moment and had some really good results of late.

“It’s tough up there and they’ve got the leading scorer in the league which says a lot for a side that’s been struggling for most of the season.”

The player King was referring to, John Frendo, has bagged 22 goals this season yet Hitchin are only three points off the relegation zone in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division.

Weymouth, on the other hand, are two points adrift of the play-offs and beat Hitchin 3-2 at home in October with Mark Ford scoring a hat-trick.

Terras (from): Evans, McConnell, Wells, Reed, Poole, Walker, Joyce, Ford, Groves, Smith, Duff, Skinner, Povall, Clarke