Copland faces lengthy spell on the sidelines after tearing ACL

Roughyeds’ winger Liam Copland has torn his ACL and will miss most, if not all, of the 2023 Betfred League One season.

Luck has not been with ‘Coppy’, who made only 12 appearances last year due to injury mid-way through the campaign.

On his return, though, he proved himself a handful, scoring seven tries and looking good.

Said Copland: ”I’m gutted. I didn’t have the best of years through injury last season and now I’m faced with this.

"I was hoping I was going to have an injury-free season, but that was clearly not meant to be.

”It’s gutting and heart-breaking, because we all want to play.

"As we all know, your rugby career is limited. It’s a short career.

"To have another full season out it’s just terrible."

It happened in a freak accident outside rugby and, at first, Copland didn’t realise how serious the injury was.

He added: “When it happened I thought I’d be able to walk it off, but by the time I got home I knew I needed to go to hospital.

“I couldn’t bend my knee or straighten it. It was just stuck.

"I went straight to Leeds General Infirmary and waited 12 hours to get it sorted.”

A couple of weeks later, after several scans and x-rays, Coppy got the news that he had completely torn his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and would need a full knee reconstruction.

Without a date for surgery, he will work closely with Oldham's physio and the strength and conditioning coach to help to straighten his leg and get him as fit as possible before he has his operation.

He continued: “The physio and the strength and conditioning coach are doing everything they can for me, putting plans together so that I can be prepared and my leg can be as fit as possible before I have surgery.

”I will definitely be back, hopefully stronger, fitter and faster than ever,” .

Head coach Stuart Littler said: “It’s a blow, but we’re putting our support behind Liam to get him back.

“We support our players on and off the field and this is a testing time for player and club.

“Tommy Brierley has been through a similar experience a couple of times, so Liam has somebody to talk to who knows exactly what he is feeling.

“The physio will support him massively and we wish Liam all the best in that process.

"We’ll support him to get him on the field again for us.”

After his operation, Copland will be in a knee brace for six to nine weeks before he can start walking and slowly working his way up to running, first in straight lines, and then in different directions.

Coppy will remain part of the Roughyeds family and post op, Oldham will provide rehab to get him back to his best.

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