Gareth Owen fitness boost for Port Vale
Experienced player-coach Gareth Owen has told the Sentinel that he has recovered from the injury that caused him to miss a large part of last season.
The 29 year-old suffered medial ligament damage in his left knee in February, which left him sidelined for the remainder of the season. But the defender is fit again and now expects to take part in a full pre-season fitness campaign.
Owen told the Sentinel: “It was an innocuous incident when my studs got caught in the turf. On another day nothing would have happened, but the pain at first was right up with the worst I’ve felt.
“It was horrific. I couldn’t sit down or stand up because of the swelling.
“But I’m doing plenty of running and strengthening work now, and although I’ve not really been striking the ball yet I will be fine for the start of pre-season next month.”