Six months on the sidelines finally came to an end for Alex Woodyard when he made his return as a second half substitute at Walsall, but our skipper was quick to analyse his own performance afterwards.
“It was great to be back out there,” said Woody. “But I’m gutted really. For the third goal, I feel that I could have done better myself, so I’m pleased to be back out there but disappointed that I couldn’t have had more of an influence on the game.”
That said, it wasn’t lost on our captain that he’d finally made it back out onto a pitch since he first sustained a troublesome calf injury, in Easter Monday’s draw with Wycombe in League One. He’s also prepared to get stuck in again, having signed a new two-year contract back in June, particularly in the absence of midfield colleagues George Marsh and Paris Maghoma.
“I’ve never had a lengthy injury like this before,” said Woody. “It’s been really difficult, mentally, I’ve had to be patient with regards to getting my calf back stronger. I had a lot of setbacks on the way, but fingers crossed now it seems to be heading in the right direction.”
Woody replaced Ethan Chislett with seven minutes of normal time remaining, in our 3-1 defeat in the West Midlands. Lee Brown soon passed him the captain’s arm band.
“It was probably sooner than expected due to injuries, but it was a nice feeling to be back involved with the team after so long out,” said Woody.
“It was definitely a case of needs must. We’re very light on bodies, so it was something I wanted to do, to try and help the team and get back on the bench. Hopefully the boys are back next week and hopefully we win at home against Sutton, which will be a big game.
“After a loss there’s probably no better game to try and bounce back, with a home game against a local team. It’s just a shame we haven’t got a game on Tuesday, to try and get back on winning terms, but I suppose it’s a great opportunity to learn from the defeat and make sure we go into that derby game fully prepared.”
Pic: Steve Bailey (Pro Sports Images).
You can see the full interview with captain Alex Woodyard below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.