Concern grows for sidelined Gregan

SEAN GREGAN . . . struggling for fitness.

ATHLETIC captain Sean Gregan has been pulled out of all football action by Athletic due to fitness concerns.

The 36-year-old, last season's player of the year, missed a large chunk of pre-season training programme due to a troublesome injury in his ankle and Achilles area which occurred while doing extra running before the squad reconvened.

Deemed ready to turn out for the last 20 minutes in the first-team friendly against Preston, Gregan was a non-playing substitute in the Carling Cup defeat at Scunthorpe and the Boundary Park league match against Notts County two weeks ago.

But after being part of the reserves' poor 6-0 defeat against Burnley last week, the Athletic management have decided that the best course of action for Gregan is to undergo intensive one-to-one fitness sessions with the club's sports scientist Paul Butler.

It is not yet known when Gregan's fitness levels will be deemed sufficient for him to stake a claim for a first-team place again.

On the eve of the season, the former Preston and Leeds player was hopeful he would be able to maintain his superb unbroken run of 75 consecutive matches in an Athletic shirt, a sequence in which he did not miss a single minute of the action.

Now, though, the commanding centre-back is absent even from the reserve-team squad.

Lee Duxbury's men were in action this afternoon, taking on Tranmere at Stalybridge Celtic in the second totesport.com League clash of the season.

Deane Smalley, who made his first appearance under boss Paul Dickov when coming on for Chris Taylor at Charlton on Saturday, started up front where he played alongside Dean Kelly.

Athletic were hopeful that transfer-listed players Kelvin Lomax, Joe Jacobson, Jon Worthington and Rob Purdie could impress any watching scouts ahead of the window for permanent transfers closing at the end of this month.

Other professionals in the side were Josh Ollerenshaw, Rod McDonald, Kirk Millar and Andy Holdsworth.

Reserves: Ollerenshaw, Lomax, M D Carr, McDonald, Jacobson, Millar, Worthington, Holdsworth, Purdie, Smalley, Kelly. Subs: Highdale, Routledge, Crompton, M A Carr, Kidd, Hughes.