Wesolowski begins on road to recovery
Luckless Shrewsbury Town midfielder James Wesolowski is back in the gym and has been backed to make a full recovery.
Wesolowski underwent a successful operation eight days ago on the cruciate knee ligaments he damaged for the second time in seven months at Barnsley on September 5.
The popular Aussie faces nine months on the sidelines with many weeks of painstaking rehabilitation ahead of him.
But despite suffering the same serious injury again, the club believe he will make a full return to playing again. "Ruud van Nistelrooy did his cruciate a number of times but I don't think anyone would argue that he wasn't brilliant after his injuries," said Town's head physio Chris Skitt.
"So I've got no major concerns, especially with this player. He'll make a full recovery and he'll be stronger than ever.
"He had his operation a week last Friday so his recovery has started.
"We'll be working to a similar timescale so we're looking at nine months.
"It was very similar to before and I was thankful when the surgeon opened him up, it was nothing to do with the previous injury."
Skitt stressed Wesolowski's chances of returning to action haven't been affected by suffering the same injury twice.
"There's exactly the same risks, but it makes absolutely no difference," he said.
"In fact if anything, because the muscles around the injury and now so strong, it weighs more in his favour because he knows what the muscles must do to ensure full recovery.
"It's something we've had to come to terms with, but I firmly believe he's on the right road to recovery now."
Wesolowski returned to the gym within 24 hours of his surgery.
"I allowed him to have Saturday off after the op, but on Sunday I had exercises planned for him," he said. "And on Monday we got him going, very much gaining a range of motion back into that leg and controlling the swelling.
"He's started work– there's no time for time off!"
Skitt is convinced Wesolowski's mental strength will see him through.
"Weso has had to go through a grieving process which is what happens when you have a serious injury," said the physio.
"So it's a matter of trying to allow him to grieve, then putting a positive spin on it to turn it into positive energy.
"Weso's strength of mind is something different.
"He'll compare to how he was at certain points last time, but we've got to treat this as a blank canvas."
