Ben Askins: Rovers young defender is facing a spell on the sidelines having undergone reconstruction surgery on his ankle.
“Ben has had a serious operation on his ankle which will see him out for about three months,” said first team manager Paul Dickov.“It was a freak incident. He was just running for the ball in training and his ankle ligaments snapped, which means he’s had to have it reconstructed to make it stronger than it was before.”
Youth team graduates Mitchell Lund and Billy Whitehouse recently made their debut for the club in Rover’s 3-0 victory over Burton Albion. Paul Dickov admitted that Askins was also in line to feature but for his injury.
“It’s a real shame for Ben because he was doing really in training and for the development side. He was in line to start against Burton in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy so it was a big blow to him.
“The main thing for him is to regain fitness. We need to nurse him through and keep his spirits high so he can come back stronger.”
Askins has made a number of appearances for Rob Jones’s Development side this season and has been named in Paul Dickov’s squad as a substitute 9 times, but the 18 year old is yet to make his debut for the first team.
First year pro Lewis Ferguson is also facing a spell on the sidelines, after dislocating his shoulder in Rovers 2-1 defeat to Rotherham Development side earlier this week.
“It’s a blow for Lewis to dislocate his shoulder, because he was doing well in the development side,” said Dickov.
“We’re hopeful he won’t be out too long and we can get him back fit as soon as possible.”
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