Defender Charlie Seaman had mixed feelings after finally hitting the comeback trail with loan club Maidstone United on Saturday.
Seaman made his first appearance since New Year’s Day when he came off the bench in Stones’ 3-0 defeat at Eastbourne Borough in National South.
The 20-year-old had been sidelined by a hamstring injury he sustained during his final training session with previous loan club Eastleigh.
Seaman enjoyed a fruitful stay with the Spitfires, featuring 24 times in the National League and FA Cup as they reached the second round.
And while he was delighted to get his first taste of action for more than ten weeks, Seaman also knows it could be his last game of the season due to coronavirus.
National League officials are today due to meet to discuss the possibility of suspending all future games with Maidstone scheduled to face Billericay tomorrow.
Seaman, who replaced Noah Chesmain with Stones trailing 3-0 against Eastbourne, told afcb.co.uk: “It was good of Maidstone to sign me in the transfer window because it’s not easy for a club to sign an injured player.
“But they said they wouldn’t have any problem signing me and for me to join them when I was fit which is why I wanted to get back so quickly.
“I wanted to play games to show what I could do. Maidstone gave me a chance and I made my debut which was good.
“It’s difficult to really affect a game in a good way when you come on with 20 minutes to go and you are 3-0 down.
“I just wanted to play as well as I could to prove I could play 90 minutes, one half or whatever in the next game. I wanted to give the coach someone else to think about when he’s picking a squad for the next game.
“But because of what’s happening, I could end up playing one game in the second half of the season and the league might be cancelled.
“It would be very frustrating for me especially considering how hard me and the staff have worked to get me back but it is what it is and you can’t do anything about it.”
Seaman was keen to publicly thank the AFC Bournemouth medical and sports science staff, particularly under-21s’ physio Ally Barlow.
“The staff were great in trying to get me back,” said Seaman. “They probably hated me because I was always on at them to try to get me back quicker than I should!
“I played 24 games at Eastleigh in the first half of the season and played pretty well when I was there.
“I got injured in my last training session with them. It was a freak accident. Between sets of games in a session, I went to backheel a ball and pulled my hamstring. Normally, you do it running or sprinting.
“It was the worst time possible to do it because I didn’t know whether I was staying there or going somewhere else.
“I had never really been injured before so it was going to happen at some point. The only problem I had with it was the timing but these things happen.”
Also in National South, Calum Ward, Brennan Camp (pictured above), Shaun Hobson and Jaidon Anthony all started Weymouth’s 2-0 win over Slough Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
Defender Camp was named man of the match after Josh McQuoid’s penalty and Andy Robinson’s late goal had earned the Terras the victory.
Slough goalkeeper Jack Turner hit the crossbar with a penalty as Ward, Camp and Hobson played their part in a clean sheet.
Dinesh Gillela was an unused substitute in Billericay Town’s 2-0 defeat by Welling United at Park View Road.
Jake Scrimshaw came off the bench to make his ninth appearance for Eastleigh in their 4-0 defeat by National League high-fliers Notts County at Meadow Lane.
Scrimshaw replaced Sam Smart after 60 minutes and with the Magpies leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Kyle Wootton and Kristian Dennis.
Wootton added his second and the hosts’ third before Cal Roberts completed the scoring in front of a crowd of 4,942.
Brennan Camp picture courtesy of Mark Probin.
