Stranraer star Paul Woods admits he has been blown away by his fellow footballers rallying round to raise funds for a knee operation, following a horror injury earlier this month.
The 36-year-old winger, who hails from East Kilbride, damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) when he collided with a team-mate during Stranraer’s win over Forfar on October 29 and requires surgery on his left knee to ensure his future mobility.
The devastating injury – which saw Woods stretchered off and requiring oxygen – has left the electrical engineer and father-of-two unable to do his regular day job, but he has been put on light duties working from home, where he is also caring for fourth-month-old son Noah and elder son Flynn, 4.
Affable "Woodsy" is a hugely popular figure across the game and, since his injury, a host of current and former team-mates including Scott Agnew, David Galt, Bryan Wharton, Craig Reid, Jamie Longworth, Sean Winter and Barry Russell have joined numerous others in donating to a Just Giving page setup by Stranraer supporters, which has so far raised almost £4,000 of its £9,000 target.
A bucket collection during Stranraer’s win over Stenhousemuir on Saturday also brought in £382 from generous fans.
With the country in the grip of a cost of living crisis, the former East Kilbride and Queen’s Park hero has been stunned by the support he has received.
But he says he may still be able to get an operation on the NHS sooner rather than later, and may not require to go for private treatment.
Woods said: “It is very kind of people, with everything that is going on in the world right now with the cost of living crisis.
“With Christmas coming up as well, and for people to be thinking about me and donating, I’ve been a bit taken aback by it.
“At the end of the day, it’s only my knee and there are people dealing with a lot worse.
“Some of the boys at Stranraer and the fans started up the page and the generosity of people has been amazing.
“I’m almost lost for words by it all.
“I’ll be in a brace for another four weeks and it will be assessed then because the surgeon says my medial ligament could heal itself by then and I would only need my ACL reconstructed. I had a really positive meeting on Monday but I'll need to see how it goes.
“I could see about going privately, depending on the waiting times.
“But if I do manage to get it done on the NHS, the money all these people have donated would end up going to a good cause.”
With Woods in the twilight of his career, it has the potential to end his part-time career in the game.
He is out of contract with the Blues at the end of this season and the rehabilitation and recovery required for such an injury is expected to be around 9-12 months from his operation.
He added: “I’m out of contract at the end of the season but the gaffer Jamie Hammell has said not to worry about things like that and focus on getting better.
“I’ve got substantial bruising on the top of my tibia. I tore my meniscus on the lateral side, damaged my cartilage, damaged my inside meniscus as well.
“The fluid around my knee is starting to go down but it is affecting day-to-day life stuff. That’s what I’m struggling to deal with.
“I’ve just become a dad again to my wee boy, Noah, who is only four months old. I’m trying to help around the house so it is difficult.
“It’s hard enough as it is with two kids.
“I’m on crutches and in a brace that allows me to bend my knee.
“But there’s that much damage in there, I’m really hoping to get it fixed soon, start my rehab and get back to some sort of normality.
“I’ve got no idea when I might be back with the amount of damage that’s been done, but I’m not even thinking about playing again right now.
“Getting back to walking without a limp will be my main focus."
You can donate to the Just Giving page here.
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