Ashington FC's Jordan Summerly says he's hoping for an injury-free run of games

The former North Shields and Blyth Spartans defender has been ruled out with a knee problem since mid August, but thankfully came through unscathed after playing for an hour before being substituted.

Now the 28-year-old is keeping his fingers crossed for an overdue and prolonged period where he stays injury-free as he admitted he has come to a crossroads in his footballing career.

“I’ve played collectively for three months in two years and that’s tough at my age,” he said after the 4-0 defeat against the West Yorkshire outfit.

“In the last campaign, I played until November then came back for a game-and-a-half at the start of this season before being injured again and out of action for three-and-a-half months. Now my plan is to put a string of games together for the rest of the season.”

Summerly says he was ‘surprised’ when he was told by manager Nick Gray that he was in the starting line-up at the weekend.

He said: “I was shocked to be honest because I wasn’t expecting it.

“There have been a couple of players who have left the club and I thought I may have made the bench and come on, but when the boss told me I was in from the start, I was surprised, but delighted all the same.

“I was happy to play for an hour without any problems and hopefully I can build on that.”

He continued: “I’ve just qualified as a chartered management accountant – so I reckon this is my last chance to stay injury free.

“I didn’t think anyone deserved to get applauded off after the defeat but the fans clapped me when I was substituted so I think they just appreciated seeing me back on the pitch – and I appreciated the support I received from them.”

Ashington assistant manager Liam McIvor said: “It’s good to have Jordan back – it’s been a long time coming.”

The Wansbeck side remain in the bottom four after Saturday’s defeat, but Summerly remains positive and upbeat: “We should get out of this situation we find ourselves in because we’ve got the players in the squad to do it,” he said.