Captain was fit to start (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Captain was fit to start

4:18pm Thursday 15th December 2005 in Football

CHIPPENHAM Town captain Gary Thorne denied he rushed back too quickly after only lasting 13 minutes of his comeback game.

Thorne had been out for the last two games but said he was ready to play at Yate on Saturday.

Thorne, who could be out for five weeks, said: "I trained on Thursday night and I came early on Saturday to give myself more time to warm up.

"During the warm up it felt good. I had no reaction from training and I was in good shape.

"In my mind and in the physios' mind I was 100 per cent fit to play. Both of them said that to me. As far as I was concerned I was going to play the whole game.

"Then when I was running back in the game I just heard it (his knee) pop as I turned round.

"In a way that's a good thing, because now I know it has totally gone and it is now a case of repairing it from scratch."

The Bluebirds captain has experienced a tough year concerning injuries and was not looking forward to more time on the sidelines.

Tyrrell himself said Thorne seemed to be in good condition before the game: "I really worked him hard and he felt fine. It's more serious this time so it will take longer.

"He's had anti-inflammatories and on Tuesday I will do some work on it. It's too sore at the moment."