After confirmation of his recent surgery that will see his spell on the sidelines continue, we got the thoughts of the Barnsley captain.
Soon after grabbing a Reds equaliser at Deepdale on December 11 last year, Cauley Woodrow reached for his knee again. It was a niggling issue he'd been carrying for a while. But on this occasion, the pain was increasing, and he had to be withdrawn, in a game that Barnsley would go on to lose against Preston North End.
“I felt the injury against Preston at Deepdale.” The skipper confirmed.
“I came off late in that game and I knew something wasn’t right, so I had a scan done. There was something in my cartilage. There’d been a niggle, something not quite right for about five weeks, but you just hope things settle down.
“But we tried an injection, and to see how it settled, but myself with Vikki (Stevens - Lead Physio) and the surgeon decided that it was best to get the operation done.”
Over a month after limping off in that game, and with the decision made to have the operation, the Barnsley number nine knew he'd be missing the majority of what remains of this 21/22 campaign.
Cauley told us: “The operation itself went well, so I’m feeling okay at the moment and hopefully it won’t be too long until I’m back. But whenever you go under the knife there are question marks I suppose.
“The surgeon told me when first looking at the injury, that it would likely be around 12 weeks at best. But now I’ve had the surgery, and the surgeon’s seen inside the knee, he reckons I could be back before then, so fingers crossed.
“It’s going to be tough the next few weeks, because I’m going to be at home all the time as there’s not much I can do at the minute. I just need to get the swelling down initially, and then in a couple of weeks I’ll go back to see the surgeon again.
“And then if everything’s going the right way I’ll be able to get back into the club and I’ll work with Vikki again and take my rehab from there.”
It's another blow for the Reds' captain in what he admits has been a tough season at the club for all concerned. The Reds finally dropped to the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table on Saturday evening, having not played a league fixture since December 29, owing to injuries - like Woodrow's - and an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the Oakwell camp.
“It’s been a tough season for all of us, it’s not gone how any of us would have hoped it might. But that’s football. It’s just an extra blow for me on a personal level because I wanted to give it my all to try and get us out of the trouble we are in.
“But for the next few months I won’t be able to do that.
“I’ll be trying my hardest to get back though, and in the meantime I’ll be supporting the lads and the staff from the sidelines, doing everything that I can to help.
“I’m confident in the lads here, and the staff, that they can turn things around and if they can get us in a better position, hopefully I can get back fit and play my part in getting us out of this position.”
We ended our little catch-up with Cauley by asking if he'd got a message for our supporters who only realised the extent of his injury last week.
The skipper says that positivity is key, that with the Reds fans' backing, there's still time for us to turn around what has so far been a challenging campaign.
“It’s obviously been a tough season for our fans, but their support for the lads is massive and they need to stick with us. Get behind the team as much as possible, keep the positivity and they’ll hopefully see better times ahead, together.
“The positive messages from the Reds fans do make a difference, and I’d like to thank them for wishing me well in my recovery. I hope to be back out there as soon as I can to do all that I can for Barnsley.”
đ Nobody has scored more Reds goals in this Millennium.
— Barnsley FC (@BarnsleyFC) January 13, 2022
You'll be missed, @CauleyWoodrow. pic.twitter.com/8uZUYZ6zrM
