Football fans rallying around "irreplaceable" Baffins Milton Rovers captain after "horrendous" double leg break
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Support has been pouring in to help a young football captain following a “horrendous” injury.
Baffins Milton Rovers FC captain Charlie Oakwell suffered a devastating double leg break during a match against Petersfield Town last Saturday (September 30). The fixture was abandoned as paramedics gave the 21-year-old oxygen on the pitch and rushed him to Queen Alexandra Hospital.
A fundraiser has been set up for the Petersfield native who is not only unable to play football but also work his job as a self-employed apprentice electrician. Manager Danny Thompson said Charlie is in good spirits despite what happened.
He told The News: “It was a horrendous leg break. He has had to have a metal rod inserted just above his knee, to the bottom of his ankle, and have it bolted.
"He’s going to be out of action for a while, so as a club, we thought it would be a good idea to raise some money while he’s off work. Charlie is going to be up against it financially over the coming weeks and months until he recovers.”
Danny said the tackle was an “unfortunate accident”. “It wasn’t a reckless challenge”, the 42-year-old added, “both of them went in to win the ball.
"Charlie overstretched a little, and the Petersfield player came through and made contact with the bottom of his shin. I’ve been in that situation before after I broke my tibia and fibula.
"It’s just one of those things that happens at football matches, and unfortunately, it happened to Charlie.” Danny said at one point there were eight or nine paramedics at the PMC Stadium in Eastern Road and the situation was “all a bit chaotic”, but the ambulance crews were able to reach Charlie quickly.
He added: “Charlie was in a bit of shock and said he knew what happened when he looked down. The bottom of his leg had bent up.
"We’re lucky we have two amazing physios that know what they’re doing and were able to care for him before the paramedics arrived. He was in the best possible hands.”
Charlie was released from hospital on Monday but has a long recovery period ahead of him. Danny said it has been a tough week for himself, the squad and Charlie’s family.
"Charlie is a great character in the dressing room,” the Lee-on-the-Solent resident said. "I think a lot of him and so do the lads. Lots of them visited him. He’ll be sorely missed over the coming months.
“He’s irreplaceable. He’s been absolutely fantastic this season, a big leader and a big player for us. But at the end of the day, it’s only football. The main thing is that he recovers and gets himself fit enough to start earning a living again.
“I’ve been in this situation before, and it’s scary and daunting. You don’t know if you’re going to play football again, but you’ve got to try and stay positive with it."
More than £1,500 has been donated to the fundraiser so far. Petersfield Town will be contributing £200 and organising a collection at their next fixture against AFC Portchester.
All the ticket revenue from Baffins’ next Wessex Football League Premier Division home match against Sherbourne Town, on October 14, will be donated to Charlie. Danny said: “If we can generate a big crowd that day, that would be brilliant.
"He’s only a young man and it’s not a nice position to be in, so we’ll do whatever we can to help him.”
To support the fundraiser visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-charlie-oakwell-and-family.