MCLAUGHLIN OUT WITH FRACTURE

Posted on March 28, 2011 in Millwall

Preston North End right-back Conor McLaughlin is on the early road to recovery after undergoing ankle surgery on Sunday.

And with the procedure, completed at Manchester’s Alexandra hospital, going according to plan the Northern Ireland U21 star now has to endure six to eight months on the sidelines.

The 19-year-old suffered a fracture to his left fibula and a dislocated ankle in Saturday’s Championship clash with Bristol City at Deepdale.

His injury came as a bitter blow to manager Phil Brown who had earlier praised the youngster as being the stand out performer in recent weeks.

Conor has played in North End’s last six games and has been popular amongst the fans for his hard working, skilful play.

But North End’s number 37 is in good hands with a strong medical team at Deepdale who have been closely monitoring the injury from the moment he was stretchered off on Saturday.

Talking exclusively to PNE.Com about Conor’s injury, head physio at the club, Matt Jackson, said: “Conor suffered a fracture dislocation of the left ankle, fracturing the lower end of his fibula and rupturing the ligament complex on the inside of his ankle and the fibrous band that secures the fibula to the tibia on the outside of his ankle.

“After relocating his ankle and stabilising the joint on the pitch he was stretchered off. Conor went down to the local A&E where he had X-Rays and was put in a back-slab plaster of Paris cast which is a half-and-half cast that allows for swelling.

“On Saturday evening we transferred him over to the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle Hulme where he was seen by Tim Clough, who is one of the leading ankle surgeons in the North of the country.

“After further X-Rays the decision was made that he would need an operation so at 10am the following morning he had the fracture fixed with a plate and underwent a repair of the syndesmosis.

“The ankle was reduced to its normal position, post-operatively the ankle was nice and stable, the technique to repair the syndesmosis allows for a small degree of movement which the joint needs for the ankle to function normally.”

The injury happened directly in front of the technical area in the final stages of the first period and within seconds the medical staff were on the pitch to help the injured teenager.

Jackson was aided by the services of Mick Rathbone, Dominic Lakeland and Jonathan Sumner in a swift procedure which left the youngster on the Deepdale turf for five minutes.

Talking about the incident, Jackson continued: “It happened right in front of the dug out so I saw it really clearly. He has gone up to win the header and there has been a little bit of contact meaning that when he landed he rolled over the top of his foot.

“He planted his forefoot in the ground and his momentum has carried his body forward as he fell back on to his foot.

“His foot was trapped underneath him and it rotated for about 120 degrees which is a heck of a lot more than the ankle joint is designed to move.”

And talking about the pitchside procedure, Jackson added: “We relocated his ankle on the pitch whilst we were positioning Conor onto his back so we could put him onto the stretcher.