Being voted the Fans’ Player of the Year has provided Thornaby FC’s inspirational captain Shaun Ryder with a much-needed post-surgery lift as he begins a long road to recovery.
Despite suffering a horrific, season-ending injury, the 34-year-old has received encouraging news from specialists and outlined his determination to bounce back and pull on the Thornaby shirt once again.
Ryder’s season came to a sudden and painful halt on March 21 during a trip to Boro Rangers.
The match had to be abandoned after the skipper suffered a devastating dislocated ankle, a broken fibula, a smashed bone in his ankle and a break in his heel.
Thornaby won the rearranged fixture 3-1 against play-off chasers Boro Rangers on Tuesday night when a Kieron Parnaby hat-trick did the damage along with two Rob Bennett saves to seal the points.
Currently bed-bound and facing a gruelling rehabilitation period, Ryder has recalled the shocking moments following the injury.
“At first when I was on the pitch, when I looked down my foot was the other way. It was sideways, like a door handle. I was in shock,” Ryder said.
“Everyone came over. I was taken into the sports hall, laid down, and the ambulance was there within 20 minutes. It was over an hour before my foot was popped back in.”
The physical toll has been matched by financial and emotional hurdles.
As a self-employed shuttering joiner, the Peterlee-based midfielder is unsure when he will be able to return to work. He recently underwent surgery, having two screws inserted to hold his ankle bones together due to snapped tissues.
Ryder said: “In hospital, my girlfriend Chloe and my little boy Coby came to see me everyday. I was feeling so down in there leading up to the surgery.
“Since then I have been bed-bound. I can’t put weight on it for a few weeks yet. I’ve had texts and support from fans, the club and outside of football too, and my girlfriend has been a massive help through it all.”
Picking up the Fans’ Player of the Year award sponsored by GM Flooring at Teesdale Park provided a massive silver lining.
A much-travelled non-league veteran with stints at Whickham, Newton Aycliffe, Northallerton, Newcastle Blue Star, Bishop Auckland, Consett and Marske, Ryder joined Thornaby mid-way through last season to help deliver promotion to Ebac Northern League Division One.
He said: “To receive that award is probably one of the best you can get. Those fans put the money in to watch you play, so for them to recognise you and see you are putting the work in means a lot.
“I have a strong connection to the fans at Thornaby, always talk to them, and it’s nice to be recognised by them for the hard work. Obviously been doing something right!”
Thornaby’s promotion to Division One was followed by a sluggish start to the current campaign, raising early fears of relegation.
However, under the guidance of management duo Craig Skelton and Simon Kasonali, the team turned their fortunes around, fending off the drop to secure Division One status for next season.
“The last year has been a big turnaround,” Ryder said. “When I moved from Whickham in Division One to Thornaby it was because they had ambitions.
“Since the current management team came in they were honest with me straight away and I have a good connection with them. The worries of relegation were there for a month or so this season … we had to listen to the managers and one day something clicked, went on a run and started beating teams higher in the league. Everyone seemed to be focused and turned the switch together.”
Following Tuesday night’s win over Boro Rangers, Thornaby face a League Cup quarter-final against Birtley Town on Thursday, before ending their league campaign with an away trip to Kendal Town on Saturday.
While Ryder – who previously recovered from an ACL tear during his time at Newton Aycliffe and a broken fibula at Blue Star – will be keeping an eye on the final fixtures from social media, he is already looking to the future. Retirement is firmly off the table.
He said: “The specialists have said I can return to action at some point and go through the rehab. With the real connection at Thornaby and everything they have done for me, it is one of the best clubs I have been at, you feel at home.
“I am planning to make a return to action next season and to get back playing for Thornaby would be fantastic.
“And for Thornaby it’s great to see we have stayed up. You don’t want to slip down the leagues when you have been promoted, the board want to progress up the league and there is a bright future for the club.
“If I can help them achieve their goals before I do hang up my boots – which is not in my mind at the moment – then that would be ideal.”
