Warriors rising star Chris Pennell’s season looks to be over after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage while running on the training ground.
The 19-year-old full-back was scheduled for surgery today (Monday) to repair his left knee after the freak setback.
“I’ve put a dartboard up in my room, so I’m going to be pretty good at it by the time I come back,” he joked before the operation.
The Academy player had been pushing for a place in the first team squad, following some eye-opening performances for the A team this season.
“There are coping strategies that we’ll be able to put in place for him to remain positive,” says academy manager Andrew Stanley. “It was unfortunate for Chris. There’s no good time to get injured but he was in a rich vein of form. He’s a strong character and we’ll help him the best way we can.”
There were words of encouragement, too, from full-back Thinus Delport, who knows from experience how tough the road to recovery can be.
“It’s not as bad as I did my knee but, unfortunately, as he did the ACL he has to go for an operation. He just needs to take his time and make sure that he fully rehabilitates his knee before he gets going again.”