Undiagnosed knee problem frustrated Shrewsbury Town striker Curtis Main at Portsmouth
He impressed and netted a crucial opener in Tuesday’s win at Burton, but Shrewsbury striker Curtis Main could have forged a successful career at tomorrow’s visitors Portsmouth if not for a freak injury.
Main made the move to Paul Cook’s Pompey in 2016 after a couple of impressive seasons at Doncaster and started well in League Two with five goals in 12 games.
But the North East-born powerhouse’s Fratton Park stint then hit the buffers due to an undiagnosed knee injury, which saw him play little part in Portsmouth’s promotion campaign.
“One word that sums my time up at Pompey would be ‘frustrating’,” said Main, who left via ‘mutual consent’ in early 2018. “I had intolerable pain in my left knee and tried everything, I couldn’t have worked any harder. It wasn’t necessarily a fitness thing, I was fit in that respect, I just wasn’t clinically fit. I kept breaking down.
“Nobody could put their finger on what it was – and I wasn’t too happy with the explanation at the time.
“In the end, I outsourced somebody to get myself right. I paid another physio away from the club and he identified a nervous system issue in my knee.
“It worked. I didn’t need an operation – and was back towards the end of the season.”
Main will hope to start tomorrow against a Pompey side managed by Danny Cowley for just the second time. The Cowley brothers led their new side to a good win over Ipswich last weekend, ending a run of six games without success.
