IN A week when one of the young Silsden players suffered a broken leg, a former Cobbydalers player and manager has recalled his own injury nightmare.

Tuesday night’s 2-1 home defeat to Stockport Town in the Hallmark Security League First Division cost the Cobbydalers more than just three points as Will Storrie suffered a fractured leg.

Kyle Hancock could also miss the rest of the season after he tore a hamstring.

James Gill was an integral part of the side as Silsden came up through the ranks but he missed more than a season after suffering a horrific double fracture in the early days of his career.

He said: “I signed for Bradford Park Avenue twice - the first time when Trevor Storton was manager but I was only very young then and probably wasn’t ready for the move.

“Phil Sharp was manager when I went back and I was on a contract. Signing that contract meant that I wasn’t allowed to play football anywhere else and I was disappointed because my old side had a big FA Sunday Cup third-round tie against Paddock FC of Liverpool.

“They wanted me to play and I asked the gaffer but he said no - he didn’t want me to run the risk of getting injured. I asked him again a few days later and I think he said no again.

“But he was watching another player from the same side - my mate Jamie Longley - and Phil told me that I could play as he’d be there in a scouting role. I lasted about ten minutes before the tackle came in that snapped my leg.”

Storrie has not suffered a career-threatening injury but Gill’s empathy extends to the player he was manager of earlier this season, and indeed any young player who has to battle back from a serious injury.

Gill said: “I looked down at my leg and the bottom half of it was twisted round

"It was hanging from the rest of it and the pain was shocking and that was only the start of it because I had umpteen operations.

“That day is ingrained on my memory. It was October 15, 2006 at Silsden’s Keighley Road.

“You think you’ll never be able to play again but I was back just 12 months later. It healed well and I felt strong, but it was such a bad one that I was never the same player.

“I worked hard on the rehabilitation and still played at a good level. I’m still playing now into my late 30s, but I don’t think I ever reached the same form.”