Home   Sport   Article

Forres Mechanics injury boost as Ryan Farquhar's recovery from injury continues and will play in this week's friendly at Elgin City


By Craig Christie

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

A FIT and hungry Ryan Farquhar can be a major asset to Forres Mechanics this season, says manager Charlie Rowley.

Ryan Farquhar will play against former club Elgin City on Tuesday night. Photo: Eric Cormack.
Ryan Farquhar will play against former club Elgin City on Tuesday night. Photo: Eric Cormack.

The attacking midfielder's time at Forres has been hampered by a knee problem which looked for some time like it would require surgery.

However, the player has made a strong recovery and will play in the Cans' first pre-season friendly against his previous club Elgin City tomorrow night (Tuesday).

"Ryan had been a major boost so far," said Rowley. "He’s been at full training and he’s had no major issues with his knee.

"He will play at Elgin and hopefully he will come through a few pre-season games and we can get the best out of Ryan.

"As it stands just now there’s been no issues, and he’s been looking sharp and hungry."
Ryan Farquhar, Scott Miller and Graham Fraser get up to fitness on the Forres Mechanics training ground. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Ryan Farquhar, Scott Miller and Graham Fraser get up to fitness on the Forres Mechanics training ground. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

Scott Miller, who like Farquhar was signed by Mechanics from Elgin in December 2018, also saw his time limited in the Forres first team after taking on offshore employment.

However the player is set to be available more regularly for the Mosset Park side having agreed to sign a new contract.

Defender James Ross has yet to train this pre-season, as he stays with his grandparents who come into the vulnerable category with Covid-19, so he has been unable to mix with the squad then return home and put his family at risk.

"But he’s due to come back this week," said Rowley. "He’s the only one who has been missing, everyone else has been there and we’ve had a core of 18 or 19 at every session so far."

For tomorrow night's match at Borough Briggs, Rowley has drafted in former Cove Rangers, Formartine and Rothes goalkeeper Greg Sim to play as a one-off measure, with regular Stuart Knight unable to play due to work commitments.

"I’m looking forward to it," Rowley added. "We are only a couple of weeks into training so we are not expecting much in terms of the fitness aspects but it will add to the preparation for the start of the season."

Summer signings Dale Wood and Jack Grant will make their first appearances in a Mechanics shirt.

Wood is eligible to play even though he is currently suspended for another ten matches, with Forres waiting to hear from the SFA if his ban can be overturned or reduced due to the long break for the coronavirus shutdown.

Hosts Elgin returned to action on Saturday with a 9-1 win over Lossiemouth , but will not take any of their south-based players up for the game.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More