Workington Reds Ladies are banking on two key defenders being back to play big parts in the second half of the league season.
Right back Eleanor McDonald and skipper centre back Naomi Foster both missed the climax of the year with injuries.
It’s been a disjointed 10 months for Eleanor who picked up a bad knee injury in February in a County Cup clash against Penrith.
That ended her season and she was not back in action until this pre-season when she tried it out in warm-up games.
Manager Paul McKenzie said: “Recovery had gone well in this time and El returned to the same impressive form she had shown before her injury.
“Unfortunately she suffered a setback after sustaining a heavy knock in a game at Radcliffe in September.
“This kept her out of action for a couple of weeks but her recovery was quick and she was able to feature in games soon after.
“Her latest setback happened whilst on the treadmill in the gym which resulted in a significant amount of pain coming from her knee. El has been unable to train and missed the run-up to Christmas.”
Skipper Foster was forced to retire from the action in a Decembetr game against Manchester Unity after landing heavily on her knee.
McKenzie said: “Naomi iced and rested her knee for a week and was able to play 45 minutes against Radcliffe before subbed as a precautionary measure.
“Sadly Naomi took a second heavy knock to her knee during a training session and has had to rest up for a while.
“We wish them a full and speedy recovery and can’t wait to see them both back to full fitness.”
