Jack Dunn: ‘I’m chomping at the bit to get back playing’

Jack Dunn discusses his return from injury, his excitement to return to first team action and previews the December period for the Yellows.

Dunn had only played 15 minutes of football this season following injuries against South Shields in last season play-off final, before being helped off this season in the FA Cup fixture against FC United.

The 25-year-old returned to the field against Nantwich Town, and came on as a substitute in the 87th minute for Tom Warren and is looking to make a full fit return earlier than expected.

Goals from Mark Roberts, Ben Garrity and Bohan Dixon helped secure the Yellows a 3-1 victory over Nantwich Town, promoting the side to third in the BetVictor Northern Premier Division.

Former Everton youngster and latest signing Tyrone Duffus also made his debut from the bench against the Dabbers in the 90th minute.

“I was looking forward to returning,” said Dunn, reflecting on the weekend’s action.

“I had only played 15 minutes beforehand, so I hadn’t really gotten off to the best of starts.

“The tackle I went in at FC United game was a fair tackle, but it was just one of them where I’ve come off unfortunate. Nine times out of 10 I get up and carry on, but that one time kept me sidelined.

“It’s been tough. I’ve been working tirelessly in the gym to get back as soon as I can. At first it was supposed to be new year that I’d be returning, but I’ve made good progress in the gym and I spoke with Cards [Paul Carden] about when I could return and we saw progress.

“We initially agreed that it was a good time for me to come back without risking. That was a big part of it. I didn’t want to come back too early and be sidelined again, so we’ve taken precautions but I think I’m back, I’m feeling strong and ready to get going now.

“I think Carden did the right thing on Saturday to give me five or ten minutes. We didn’t want to put me straight in and give me half an hour or a start. I’ll keep working on the minutes and hopefully I don’t pick up any niggly injuries along the way.”

In what will be a repeat of last year’s play-off final, the Yellows travel to Mariners Park this Saturday in the league to face table toppers South Shields, with just four points separating the sides in the table.

Last season, Warrington also claimed a 2-1 victory away from home against the Mariners, in which Jack Dunn scored the deciding goal, with Josh Amis opening the scoring.

“I’m chomping at the bit to get back playing,” Dunn said.

“However, Cards is clever and we’ve sat down and talked about getting me back but not too soon.

“With the team being in good form, there’s a lot less pressure of putting me back in there and we can take our time now because the team is performing really well.

“So he can give me five minutes here, ten minutes there instead of putting me in straight away. I’m coming back at a good time.”

In December, the side will feature at Cantilever Park twice against both Basford United (14) and Witton Albion (26), as well as traveling to Morpeth Town (21) and then featuring again in a short-turnaround on January 1 2020 away to Bamber Bridge.

Previewing the tough period ahead, Dunn added: “Training has been really sharp the past couple of weeks I’ve been back. The quality has been getting better, and last season we went on a good run around this time and we got a good winning streak, so hopefully we can replicate that.

“We had a good win against Nantwich and can hopefully carry it on against South Shields and keep going like we did last year. I think our squad is stronger this year to be fair. Training has been really sharp and I’m excited.

“It’s a tough period. We’ve had two games postponed already, which isn’t ideal as that means further down the line we’ll have to play those games in short amount of time. Hopefully the weather will be kind and we can play the games ahead.

“At the minute, we’re in a good position. We have a couple games in hand on teams around us, we’re on the same amount of games as South Shields but hopefully we can gain points on them this Saturday.

“I’m excited, we did really well last year and hopefully this year we can go one step further.

“I’m dying to get back on the pitch and get more football played, I’ve missed a lot out this year and there’s nothing worse than being a footballer and not being able to play, so I want to get back out on that pitch and do it right and work myself back up into the starting 11.”

Tickets for our next home game against Basford United are now available to purchase online.