Given the hope placed by some on the return of Josh Scowen, I wondered how quickly previous Wycombe Wanderers players had returned from ACL injuries.
Here’s the results of my research, should anyone else be interested.
KEITH RYAN age 24 24th January 1995 v Chalfont St Peter (H) 13th January 1996 v Notts County (H) (78th minute substitute) 3rd February 1996 v AFC Bournemouth (A) (completed 90 minutes)
JERMAINE McSPORRAN age 23 16th December 2000 v Wigan Athletic (A) 11th August 2001 v Cardiff City (A) (played 75 minutes) 25th September 2001 v Brighton & Hove Albion (H) (completed 90 minutes)
ANDY BAIRD age 22 20th February 2001 v Wimbledon (A) 2nd February 2002 v Port Vale (57th minute substitute)
Never completed 90 minutes again for Wycombe Wanderers
PAUL EMBLEN age 25 5th March 2002 v Brighton & Hove Albion (A)
Never played again for Wycombe Wanderers
ANDY LONERGAN age 21 15th October 2005 v Rushden & Diamonds (H) 4th November 2006 Swindon Town v Hereford United (completed 90 minutes)
MIKE WILLIAMSON age 23 24th February 2007 v Mansfield Town (A) 9th February 2008 v Mansfield Town (H) (88th minute substitute) 22nd March 2008 v Morecambe (A) (completed 90 minutes)
MATT BLOOMFIELD age 24 8th March 2008 v Darlington (H) 10th November 2008 v AFC Wimbledon (A) (89th minute substitute) 3rd January 2009 v Bury (H) (completed 90 minutes)
SCOTT DONNELLY age 23 10th December 2011 v Chesterfield (H) 29th September 2012 Aldershot Town v York City (played 84 minutes) 2nd October 2012 Torquay United v Aldershot Town (completed 90 minutes)
NICK FREEMAN age 25 21st August 2021 v Lincoln City (H) 30th July 2022 v Burton Albion (H) (78th minute substitute) 9th August 2022 v Northampton Town (A) (completed 90 minutes)
BRANDON HANLAN age 26 11th November 2023 v Stevenage (H) 2nd November 2024 v York City (H) (82nd minute substitute) 18th February 2025 Stevenage v Burton Albion (completed 90 minutes)
JOSH SCOWEN age 32 26th April 2025 v Leyton Orient (A)
The wording at the time was ‘anterior cruciate ligament damage’ which may indicate a grade 2 (partial) tear, rather than a full tear - which is often described as a rupture. Either way I think it would be highly unlikely for us to see him play in 2025. Ligament remodelling takes a long time no matter what medical services you have access to.
I agree with @FromeBlue. Then throw into the equation to work that’ll needed to be done to ensure that the knee is strong enough to withstand all of the requirements needed for League 1 football. I think he’ll only be making the odd 10 - 15 minute appearances off the bench between Feb and Easter / April. He might be in a position to play 90 minutes of football around Easter or beginning of April at the very earliest.
Appreciate it could be totally different in professional sport but my own experience was that the biggest challenge is regaining balance, flexibility and confidence.
The strength comes back relatively quickly but it’s never quite ‘the same’ again and you end up trying to compensate, deliberately or otherwise, by changing your movements.
The difference in recovery work, physio and him obviously being much fitter than me may of course make any comparison entirely redundant!
Not really. They have prob included him to prove that he’s still an important part of the squad and to make sure that they didn’t sign too many players which could have resulted in him not being able to be registered when he becomes fit. With the signing spree we had over the summer, I had a concern that he would be forgotten about but by having him registered, it ensures that there is a slot available to him. If his recovery takes a knock or if he re-injures himself, the club can also take his squad slot away from him and sign a replacement in Jan. It would mean his season’s over and could raise a question mark over him in the future.
When we had Curtis, his spot was left open so that GA had the flexibility to sign someone a released / free player and fill his spot IF Curtis’ injury was going to take longer OR if he decided to retire.
A gesture is one thing but that goes too far. If we get four defenders getting injured at once and need to sign two free transfers we can’t. I fail to see why such a gesture would be made.
Because the management team can see what he brings to the club. As for the example you gave, that could happen to anyone, Liverpool are showing signs of that at the moment. I think the management group are pinning a lot of hope on Josh’s return as it’s clear he’s the missing link.
A question: Could they be including him because he might take the Capt’s armband off Jack when he returns?
But as above it makes no sense if he has no chance of a return in 2025. If you want to make a gesture give Scowen a new contract like Brandon Hanlan was given (although not included in the squad).
But I’ve done some delving myself in an effort to justify a retrospective compliment.
Sadly, my findings lead me to the conclusion that Josh Scowen certainly won’t be playing again this year (as I think someone suggested earlier in the thread) and I think it is very unlikely that he will play again at League One level. The average age of the players @glasshalfempty listed, at the time of incurring the injury, was a shade under 24.
Josh is 32 and his “style of play” as the bios like to call it involves a lot of “getting stuck in” as those of us of a certain vintage used to encourage from the cattle shed or wherever. That was in the days when midfielders were called half backs or inside forwards.
To expect Josh to recapture the kind of form fitness and output that, remarkably, he was still displaying six months ago seems very unrealistic. Sad to say.
Really don’t agree where you are getting findings that Scowen will never play again at League One level. There is absolutely no suggestion at that. Scowen has been pictured regularly working hard at the gym. With the advancements in physio I see no reason why he can’t come back as good as he was - although he will need some time.
Getting findings? I thought the evidence of the litany of previous examples was sufficient to support my reluctant conclusion. I can’t recall how well the careers of each and every one of those youngsters developed subsequently but Paul Emblen didn’t play again, it seems, and Nick Freeman (still only 29) hasn’t exactly been pulling up trees. The goalkeeper only played two games for us, according to Wikipedia, and only averaged 14 games per season over a 25 year career. Doubt that the ACL had much to do with that!
As I said, much as it would be great to see Josh performing as well (or almost as well) as he was performing last season, that may prove to be a bridge too far.
Sadly Nick Freeman suffered another ACL injury whilst playing for Stevenage at Reading on 15 March 2025 (approximately six weeks before Josh Scowen suffered his injury).
After being released by Wycombe for being too injury prone - he was after all the original car crash dummy - Andy Baird has only played for a handful of non-league clubs but last year he came out of retirement to play for Evesham. He’s 46 now and, as far as I know, still playing.
