Sharps avoids op in fitness booster

Shrewsbury Town skipper Ian Sharps is aiming to be fully fit for pre-season – and heaped praise on the specialist who has kept him out of the operating theatre.

Sharps looked certain to go in for surgery after suffering a hernia injury that forced him to go off in Shrewsbury's doomed play-off semi-final first leg at Torquay.

But sessions with renowned neuromusculoskeletal consultant Ronan McCarthy – who had previously treated him for a groin problem – got him back on the pitch just a week later and he is now going back to London for more treatment during his summer break.

"He said it's a myth that a hernia needs an operation and after how he dealt with my groin I was happy to go with his judgment," said Sharps.

"I've had two sessions on it so far and I'll have two more when he gets back from holiday.

"What he's done for me, I think he's amazing," added the Shrewsbury captain.