Having forced his way back into the team and scored a stunning late equaliser at Crawley last month, Mark Convery was unlucky to come off worse in a three-man clash at Burton ten days ago.

The impact on the side of his knee ruptured his medial collateral ligament and means he must spend the next 4-5 weeks with his knee in a hinged brace, then up to six weeks of intensive rehabilitation to build up his strength and fitness again.

"The Burton lad pushed Robbie (Willmott) and he caught the outside of my knee, and because it was my standing leg it bent more than it should and that's what caused the damage," Mark explains.

"I thought it was just a whack and I tried to get up and walked off the pitch, but when I tried to come back on I knew I wouldn't be able to run on it. I saw the specialist the next day and he confirmed what Greg (Reid) thought, but thankfully the scan showed there was no other damage. It could have been a lot worse," he adds philosophically.

"I have to keep the brace on for six weeks no matter what, because that's how long it takes for the ligament to heal, but the good thing is that it heals by itself and doesn't need an operation."

After spending a week in his native Newcastle, Mark returns to the club next Tuesday to have the injury assessed, and then over the next few weeks the hinge on the brace will gradually be opened to extend his range of movement.

"I have to say a big thank you to Greg because he got me in to see the specialist literally within a day, and to the specialist for fitting me in so soon," he adds. "The quicker I saw him, the quicker I got the cast on and the quicker the first six weeks will be over with.

"Greg is a very good physio and I and trust him, and I'll make sure I follow everything he says and hopefully it will be a speedy recovery and I can be back as soon as possible," Mark promises.

"Greg has a hard job because any player that's injured is going to be feeling low, and you have to pick yourself up and get on with your own programme while everybody else is out there training. But Greg changes things around to give you a bit of variety and he keeps things interesting, and he always talks to you about your injury and tells you as much as you can understand without being a physio yourself."

Mark has a weights programme to follow and will work on upper body strength while his leg is in the brace, and he is determined to maintain as much fitness as he can during his enforced 'rest'.

"Once the brace comes off, that next six weeks is going to be a case of dedicating all my time to getting as fit and strong as I possibly can. As long as I look after myself now, it won't take as long to get myself back fit so a bit of dedication now will stand me in good stead for when I come back."

Explaining why he will be careful not to overindulge on food and treats at Christmas, the 27-year-old adds, "If you have to lose a few pounds when you come back it will take an extra week or two to do that as well as get your fitness up, so it can drag things out for an extra few weeks. Whereas if you take care of yourself, those few weeks can be spent progressing on something else, so my main aim is to look after myself and come back fitter and stronger if anything."

The injury comes at a frustrating time for Mark as he had regained a regular midfield berth after appearing to be on his way out of the club at the end of last season, and it has interrupted a good run of form for the 27-year-old.

"I feel as though I've been stringing a few performances together," he confirms. "There's a lot of competition for places but I was in the team most weeks and felt as though I was getting there. So it's bad timing but the gaffer's told me it's nobody's fault, and rather than get down about it I'm going to stay upbeat and concentrate on getting back as soon as I can."

Having fallen out of favour under previous manager Jimmy Quinn and ending the season on loan at Weymouth, and he admits he had mixed feelings about the excitement around the play-offs and the Final at Wembley in May.

"I was being pushed out a bit at the time so obviously I wanted the club to get promoted, but from a personal point of view it was hard because no matter what I did the manager didn't want me involved in the squad," he reveals.

"It was frustrating because earlier in the season I'd played quite a lot of games, but then for whatever reason he just stopped picking me no matter what I did. So it was good watching the lads but personally it was very frustrating not to be involved."

But barely a month after Wembley, Jimmy Quinn had left the club and Gary Brabin was appointed and it felt like a fresh start for Mark: "I just wanted to come straight back into training and it was like a new lease of life for me," he recalls.

"I knew everybody would be measured by what he saw of them so I was looking forward to coming back for the start of the season, and from a personal point of view it's been good for me."

During pre-season he suffered a strained hamstring that ruled him out of the first five games of the season, but since the end of August he has been a regular in the squad and he enjoys playing under Gary Brabin.

"I just got my head down and got stuck in, and the gaffer always speaks to you and keeps you involved whether you're playing or not, which is good because some managers don't. He said he'd seen enough of me to know he wanted me playing and I was in his plans.

"He likes his sides to play football but you've got to do the other part too, which is what I've been working on, and I couldn't really have asked for anybody better to come in. And that doesn't just apply to me," he adds. "I think pretty much the whole squad wants to play the way the gaffer wants to, and it suits the players we've got here."

Mark has earned praise from the manager for the way he has rounded out his game to include more tracking back and defending as well as passing and getting forward, particularly after the game at Crawley when he struck the stoppage time equaliser in a 2-2 draw.

"It was a great feeling to score that night because we thought they shouldn't have had the free kick leading up to their first goal, then we equalised but they got a penalty that we didn't think should have been given, and generally we felt like the referee wasn't giving us anything.

"But the gaffer has installed in us not to give up and to keep going and keep doing everything right, and all credit to the lads because we kept going and if it had gone on another four or five minutes I think we'd have won it. The goal for me just topped it off and I think my celebrations were about letting a lot of the frustration out."

Having scored a memorable deciding goal at Stevenage last season (above), he adds, "Scoring more goals is something I want to add to my game, but obviously if you don't score that many then when you do it's a little bit special, so when I scored at Crawley it was a mixture of relief and frustration."

Mark admits that he is not a good spectator, like most injured players, and he is looking forward to being involved again in March and hoping to rejoin a side competing at the top of the table.

"I'd rather not watch our games because it's too frustrating to watch when you're sitting there and there's nothing you can do. Obviously you want the lads to do well but I think any footballer will tell you the same - it's difficult to watch when you'd rather be out there playing.

"I think it's similar for the gaffer too," he adds. "Sometimes he wants to be out there too! But I know I have to let the ligament heal for six weeks and then I can work with Greg towards getting back out there again.

"Hopefully the lads can keep doing what we've done all season and stay there or thereabouts. I think as a minimum we should be pushing for a spot in the play-offs but if everyone sticks together we can do that.

"It's frustrating for me personally because we've got a lot of games coming up and it's a good time to push on for the rest of the season, but hopefully the lads pick up as many points as they can so we're in a strong position, and then hopefully when I come back I can add to the squad ready for the run-in."

The Blue Square Premier has been much closer this season than last, with no clear breakaway groups at the top or bottom, unlike last year, and Mark feels the standard is not only higher this season, but also more even.

"I don't think anyone's going to run away with it but there are up to ten teams who are real contenders for a play-off spot, whereas last season you had Aldershot running away with the league but there were only five or six teams really in the play-offs.

"It's a big season for us and it's a much more even and competitive league so we'll have to be consistent to stay up there. I was playing in the league a few seasons ago and I would say the standard in the Conference is very similar to that league now, because there are so many ex-league clubs in this division now and a lot of players who have played at that level, so I don't think there's much difference in the standard. Our first aim has to be automatic promotion because this is definitely a hard league to get out of."

Closing with a message to supporters, Mark says, "The support has been fantastic all season and I'd ask everyone to keep behind the team and help to give us a push between now and the end of the season.

"Hopefully people will think I'm a bit of a loss to the squad and I'd like to assure them that I'm going to do everything I can to come back better, fitter and stronger, and ready to play a part in the promotion push.

"And finally I'd like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and Happy New year and hopefully we'll get some good results over the holiday period."

Andrea Thrussell
web@cambridge-united.co.uk

*An edited version of this interview was published in the programme for the match against Salisbury City on Saturday 20th December, 2008.

Previous Featured Player articles

Anything to say about the interview? Make your click count for the U's by discussing it on the Message Board!

You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website (unless otherwise stated), is subject to copyright and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source.

AT081224