Wilson Comes Full Circle After Injury

When Beth Wilson sustained an injury against Blackburn Community Sports Club last October, she didn’t immediately realise the extent of the problem until after the game had finished.

It was only after full-time of that game when Beth realised her knee had seized up and she was unable to walk.

After resting up for two weeks with no football, Wilson’s knee problems persisted, which led to her visiting a private physio to look at her left knee tissue.

The news from the physio was a blow for Wilson as she learned she was to be sidelined for up to four months.

Reflecting on how she learnt of her injury, and how she has continued to watch and receive support from her team-mates since, Wilson said: “It was really difficult knowing I couldn’t play for that long, especially after I had made the decision to come back to PNE only a short while before it.

“It was very hard watching the girls play knowing I couldn’t help. I went to as many games as possible to provide what support I could to the girls.

She has been grateful to have had her team-mates by her side in her recovery and made special mention of coach Nigel Greenwood in allowing her to return at her own pace.

“All the girls were helpful and concerned with my injury, they kept asking me when I was coming back.

“Nigel was really good about the whole situation, he said there was no rush and to come back when it felt right.”

Wilson returned in late February in an emphatic win against Sir Tom Finney FC, which included her registering an assist, and she has also since scored against rivals Blackpool.

She continued: “After this I kept progressing to increase the strength of my knee.

“I came back to training in March and my first game was against Tom Finney which I came on at half-time and assisted and I then played against Blackpool and scored.”

Late last month, though, Wilson came full circle from her injury as she was involved against Blackburn Community Sports Club – the side against whom she first sustained injury.

While it was not the desired result for the team on that occasion, she has been delighted to be back involved on matchday.

Beth added: “I’ve loved every minute of being back on the pitch. We’ve played well in our last two games even though we haven’t got the result.

“I thought we were really unlucky to lose against Blackpool. We need to focus on obtaining maximum points from our final league games to finish the season strongly and set us up for next season!”

Beth has since also scored in last weekend's 3-1 win against Workington AFC Ladies, and will hope to be involved in the final two games of the season for the women's team.

They travel to in-form Haslingden Ladies and Girls next weekend, before closing out the season at home to Penrith AFC Ladies the following Sunday, in what could be a direct shoot out to decide which side finishes in fourth place.