Shane McLoughlin’s Injury Fears and Newport County Comeback

Shane McLoughlin, a player for Newport County, is scheduled to intensify his return to league play this weekend after sustaining a knee injury in September. He has acknowledged that the injury, which occurred only six minutes into a match against Port Vale, initially caused him to fear the most severe outcome, despite accepting he was fortunate. The utility player, McLoughlin, had been out of action for two months due to the concerning knee injury sustained during the September fixture against Port Vale. However, after making a late appearance in the final minute against Tranmere last weekend and then playing 63 minutes in the Exiles’ EFL Trophy loss to Reading midweek, the 27-year-old revealed he had initially worried about an even more prolonged period away from the pitch. McLoughlin, who is expected to participate in Newport’s upcoming League Two match against Grimsby Town at Rodney Parade, stated, “I got away with it not being a really nasty one.” He elaborated on his initial apprehension, saying, “Sometimes as a player you get a gut feeling with injuries and, I won’t lie, I really wasn’t sure because I was in such an unnatural position.” He added, “I was worried at the time because I’d hyper-extended my knee and I was caught at the same time.” Describing the extent of the damage, he noted, “In the end I damaged my cartilage, there was a sprain to the ACL and the tendon attached to my hamstring tried to tear the bone off.” Concluding, he remarked, “But on all three fronts I got away lightly compared to what could have been.” The New York-born Irish player confirmed he consulted multiple medical professionals before receiving confirmation that surgery would not be necessary. Despite this, he described his two-month absence from play as “wasn’t ideal.” During his time off the field, County secured only three victories in their most recent nine League Two matches and were eliminated from the FA Cup. Manager Nelson Jardim highlighted that McLoughlin’s “composed” versatility—primarily a full-back but also capable of playing higher up and in midfield—offers a significant advantage in both attack and defence for a team that has conceded 26 goals. Jardim acknowledged that Newport is currently experiencing “a bad spell,” having secured only one victory in their last eight games across all competitions. McLoughlin, a former player for Wimbledon, Morecambe, and Salford, expressed that his recent appearance against Reading helped him “blow the cobwebs away” as he aims to assist Jardim’s youthful squad in regaining their form against Grimsby. McLoughlin, who is among the few players remaining from last season after a summer squad overhaul, commented, “We have a lot of good players in the building, but we are still gelling.” He continued, “I know people don’t want to hear it, and there are going to be some tough times, but with the lads we have we will get through this.” He further added, “We have players looking to make their mark; before I signed I had a tough stint of not playing but I found my feet when I got here and had one of the best years of my career.” McLoughlin concluded by stating, “We need the basis of being more consistent to allow players to shine and I’m sure we will. The next step is to put some good runs together and they can shine even more.” Jardim indicated that McLoughlin’s comeback would offer both defensive and offensive enhancements to the struggling Exiles. He likened McLoughlin’s return to “like having a new signing.” However, Newport will be without defender Kyle Jameson for the upcoming two matches, following his second red card of the season, which he received during last weekend’s defeat at Tranmere. Jamie Miley’s participation is uncertain due to ongoing back spasms, having only recently recovered from a hernia operation. Meanwhile, Jardim disclosed that he is carefully managing the fitness of midfielder Kai Whitmore, who has also recently returned from an injury. Jardim stated, “I have to take him out to make sure he can come back to the level he can play 90 minutes, which hopefully he can do soon,” while also acknowledging that Jameson is dealing with an injury issue. He added, “There is light at the end of the tunnel with injuries, but I wouldn’t say the red card came at a good moment for us as we will have to change things at the back after the hard work to keep clean sheets against Gillingham and Fleetwood.” Jardim concluded by saying, “But that’s the process we are in; this league is crazy and everyone goes through bad spells. We can’t hide from it and are determined to move forward.”