'Paralysed' keeper saves Elgin cup bid
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ELGIN City’s Scottish Cup hero has told how a medical mishap left him paralysed and unable to walk only days before the big match.
John Calder’s gritty heroics in Saturday’s cup clash at Fraserburgh were all the more remarkable considering the City goalkeeper had been on crutches just four days earlier.
“Basically, I was paralysed,” he told ‘The Northern Scot’. “I had a special MRI scan last week to check up on a long-term hip problem, and they needed to inject dye into the joints.
“But it all went a bit wrong, and I couldn’t even move my legs to put my trousers on. I ended up spending last Friday through until Tuesday on crutches, and that was only because I couldn’t get a wheelchair into my second-floor flat.”
Calder missed his team’s league trip to Annan and looked certain to be out of action for a lot longer. But remarkably, he made a good recovery last week and declared himself fit to manager Ross Jack on the eve of Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie.
Even then, the reserve keeper was only set to sit on the bench for 90 minutes until a sickening head knock rendered regular City goalie Zander Clark unconscious, sparking an unexpected call of duty for his deputy.
With City facing a strong wind and later reduced to 10 men, Calder ignored his own injury woes to play a vital role in preserving a clean sheet and keeping his team in the competition.
A string of saves kept the score at 0-0 meaning a replay at Borough Briggs this weekend, with Calder almost certain to start the match.
Dogged by hip problems since the age of 14, the 23-year-old Aberdeen-based keeper underwent reconstructive surgery on both joints in 2008, while he was a full-time player with Inverness Caley Thistle.
With 14 pins holding his repaired hips in place, Calder admits he will never be pain-free for the rest of his life, but is determined to continuing playing the sport he loves.
See Friday's Northern Scot for full story.
