FIT-AGAIN STEVIE IS ON A MISSION

AFTER a year that would have tested anyone to the limit, it’s no wonder Stevie Mallan is relishing every second of Salford City’s promotion push.

- John Lyons

The 27-year-old Scot’s adventure in Turkey with Yeni Malatyaspor came to a sour end last season due to a combination of a back injury that required surgery and the club’s failure to pay his wages.

It left his future in limbo, but then the Class of ’92-backed Ammies came calling and a bright new adventure beckoned – until more misfortune struck.

“I did the full pre-season and then in the last game I broke down with my foot,” he told The FLP. “I just couldn’t believe it – it was a freak injury, one the physios hadn’t really seen before.”

It turned out that the unlucky Mallan had torn his plantar fascia, a band of tissue, similar to a ligament, that connects your heel bone to the base of your toes.

“I went to take a corner, planted my left foot and that’s when I felt a slight pain,” he recalled. “The next day I was on crutches, I couldn’t really walk - it was that painful.