Grant on the road to recovery

While many players are heading for the beach with the season over with Spartans goalkeeper Conor Grant is facing a busy summer of rehabilitation. A shoulder injury sustained in the final day win at Stamford curtailed Grant's season and led to him spending the night in a Lincolnshire hospital. The former Gretna stopper revealed the extent of the injury.

"I went to quickly make a save at the back post but the ball was already behind me, causing me to dive into the post at full force. It was a shock but I wasn't in too much pain initially, although I could tell something definitely wasn't right"

He continued "The real pain and discomfort kicked in after about twenty minutes when I was in the dressing room and the car journey to the hospital was horrible! I got a load of pain relief not long after getting there and then I was chatting nonsense to Phil Castiaux (the club's Head of Media) for half an hour. The doctors then tried to put the shoulder back in three or four times but it wasn't happening, so I went into theatre under general anaesthetic and it went back in then no problem"

Despite having a serious injury Grant remained positive and was thankful that the timing of it means that he will be back and ready for pre-season training. Although he will return with the advice of doctors and physios at the forefront of his mind.

"They said at least six weeks until I start playing football again, thankfully I did it at the end of the season so I won't miss anything. I've been given exercises to do to strengthen the shoulder back up and recover its flexibility"

The injury marred what had been a tremendous end to the season for Grant. The keeper was arguably one of Spartans most consistent performers during the closing months with several notable performances. However he admitted it had been a rather up and down season for him personally but is determined to carry on his hard work to reap the rewards next season.

"The season has been a bit of a mix. Although I didn't feel I had shown the form I was capable of earlier in the season, I lost my place when we were fourth in the league and hadn't conceded a great amount of goals. I was disappointed but you just need to respect the management's decision and keep working hard while waiting for your chance.

I thought I had done enough after getting back into the team against Bedlington and FC United at the end of November but it wasn't meant to be. Since getting the number one shirt back in January I've been much happier with my form. Now I just need to keep working hard and carry it on into next season"