Ake's agony (From South Wales Argus)

Ake's agony

6:10am Saturday 15th August 2009 in Latest Football By Michael Pearlman

NEWPORT County winger Takumi Ake admits he is devastated after being ruled out for six months with a serious knee injury that will require surgery.

The former Team Bath flyer was carried from the field within 30 minutes of the season opener at Bishop’s Stortford and a scan has confirmed the worst fears of both the player and his new club, a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Ake’s injury is the same one that has affected top-flight players such as Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Michael Owen and it will be at long road to recovery with surgery pencilled in for the beginning of September.

However, the Japanese winger is determined to get back to full fitness and is hopeful of making his comeback this season, believing that he will be resuming his career with County battling for promotion.

“I am very disappointed of course, it’s going to be a long process to get back again and my biggest aim is to get back as quickly as I can,” he said.

“The only positive is that Newport are a proper club and I know they are going to stand by me and help me to get fit again.

“Dean has said he will get me rehabilitation with some of his contacts and I just want to get on with things now so I can start getting better.

“I hope I can be back this season and I especially want to play in a home match. I was at the (Hampton and Richmond) game and it was amazing, the fans are so loud and I can’t wait to have them cheering for me.

“When I come back I think the club will be right near the top of the Conference South, because we have the best squad in the division.”

Boss Holdsworth has confirmed the club is fully behind Ake and there is no prospect of a repeat of the Ian Hillier situation last season (the defender injured at work and then sacked by County, before being reinstated).

“Firstly, we are of course devastated about this, it is one of the worst things and biggest disappointments I have had in my whole career, as a player or a manager,” he said.

“But it’s great that the club are properly organised off the field, Takumi is insured, we will be doing everything possible to get him fit and healthy as soon as we can.

“That means me hopefully getting him full-time rehabilitation somewhere and obviously he’ll work with our medical people too.”

Holdsworth said: “It’s a bitter blow to lose him as a player and a person from the squad for a while.

“But he can come back from this, he’ll work hard and he’ll give us all a boost.”