Hello everyone,

My name is Courtney woodhead, and I'm hoping that in setting up this page and sharing my journey I can hopefully raise the funds for my ACL recovery journey.

As some of you may know I recently suffered an injury whilst playing football, this wasn’t like any other injury I had experienced before and I knew it as soon as I hit the floor. The pain was like nothing I had felt before and I think the screams said it all. This was every footballers worst fear as soon as I heard the pop in my knee, I knew it was something serious. After several hospital and doctor’s appointments and feeling like I was getting no closer as to what I had done, I decided to go private for my MRI scan to get answers. After anxiously waiting I received the devastating news that I have a complete tear of my left ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) this was a tough pill to swollen knowing I won’t be returning to football with my team for the following seasons.

This injury has been a huge setback for me, as football has always been a huge part of my life since starting at Preston North End at the age of 10, to becoming captain at 15 and still playing for the club 14 years later. Football is my life and it’s all I’ve known since a very young age which makes this even harder knowing I have a very long road of recovery to face before being able to return to my club.

Unfortunately due to the extend of the injury it does require surgery and a long recovery period, including physical therapy and a range of other expenses. Due to the long waits on the NHS, it could be several months/year before I could get the surgery I need. I decided to explore my options down the private root to get the surgery and the recovery process on the road quicker. Not only would this support my journey back to playing football, but to support me returning back to work due to these injuries prohibiting my roles and responsibilities within my current employment. However, due to the cost of this it isn’t possible for me to do so.

I'm setting up this GoFundMe page to try and raise funds for my rehabilitation before and after my surgery to get me as strong as possible before making my return to football. Your support means the world to me, and any contribution will help me get the physio sessions I need to get back to doing what I love most- playing football. Any additional support would be appreciated and put towards potential private surgery if it can be achieved.

Thank you so much for your kindness and support!

UPDATE

After the support from everyone PNEFC have supported me and contributed towards me going private for surgery.

With this said the initial target/funds raised above will all contribute to cover my physiotherapy and rehabilitation before and after the surgery.

Once again Thankyou for all the support shown!