Midfielder relishes his return to form
Playing in the FA Youth Cup for AFC Wimbledon tomorrow night will mean so much to 18-year-old midfielder Seanan McKillop after he put an injury nightmare behind him.
Seanan (pictured right above with Mark Robinson) only returned to match action earlier this year after 15 months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The cup tie against Woking (7.45 pm kick-off) will also be the first time he has played at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, despite playing for AFC Wimbledon since Under-13s.
Seanan was regarded by staff as one of the academy’s brightest talents before his terrible injury – and he even turned down interest from Chelsea to stay with the Dons.
Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Seanan recalled. “I was playing in the West Surrey Youth League for a local team and I asked Paul Foley, who was manager of the Under-13s at the time, for a trial. I loved it right from the start here. I had been at Wimbledon for about a year when Chelsea came in for me. We were still a Sunday League team at the time, but I had a chat with Mark Robinson for about an hour and a half and I told him I just did not want to leave. My Mum and Dad were there too and I said that I wanted to see how far that I could go here.
“I tore my ACL towards the end of 2013 and I only just got back in January this year so it has been a long process. This will be my first time of playing at the ground because of injuries and stuff like that. I am really looking forward to it and all the boys are buzzing as well. It will be a good test for us.”
Mark Robinson still rates Seanan highly and he believes that he is starting to recapture the rich promise he showed before his bad injury.
“I liked what I saw of Seanan when he was playing Sunday League and we decided to snap him up,” said Mark. “He had a really bad injury and was out for 15 months. Seanan can be quite stubborn and he had moments when he wanted to get back to the level he had been at straight away. I had to keep telling him that it does not work like that. He has got his head together and we are starting to see the Seanan that we all know. Though he still has things that he needs to work on, every week he is getting better and better.”
An in-depth seven minute interview with Mark Robinson and Seanan McKillop is now on Dons Player.
Entry prices are £5 for adults and £2 for Under-18s at Tuesday night’s game.