Lossiemouth’s Ally Bellingham has thanked the people who donated to his crowdfunder as he tries to raise money for a knee operation.
The Coasters defender has been out of action since July 2021 after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in training a week before the beginning of last season.
Initial scan results were inconclusive, but earlier this year Bellingham received confirmation he had sustained a rupture.
With a waiting time of close to a year on the NHS, the 26-year-old is trying raise money for a private operation.
He’s already received around £1,700 in donations and is thankful for that support.
Bellingham said: “I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated because it means so much to me.
“Some of the donations have been way beyond my expectations and I’m very thankful to everyone.
“There have been people that I haven’t seen or spoken to for 10 or 15 years who have donated and people I’ve never met before have donated, which is amazing really.
I don’t know Ally but hopefully people can help him out with a few quid towards this op, as nightmare for HL players to recover from this type of injury 👍🏻 https://t.co/TdFb82c41S
— Dale Gillespie (@13DaleyG7) August 16, 2022
“My team-mates and former team-mates have been great as well and even people I’ve played against have donated.
“Dale Gillespie from Brora put in £50 and I messaged him, because – although we’ve played against each other – we’ve never spoken and don’t know each other. So for him to donate was an amazing gesture and very generous of him.
“I’d like to thank all the people who have donated because it means a huge amount to me.”
Surgery only hope of playing return
Bellingham has been told without surgery he won’t be able to play football again.
Having been part of the Lossiemouth first-team for seven years, that was a bitter pill to swallow.
But, aside from trying to make a playing comeback, Bellingham is also in pain when he is at work.
The Elgin-based joiner added: “Without surgery, I’ve been told I’ll never play football again.
“I’ve played football since I was a wee boy so that news was pretty heartbreaking.
“When I sustained the injury, I’d never felt pain like it and it still gives me pain now.
“It’s not just about football, I still get pain when I’m working because I’m moving all the time and lifting things, so it’s not great.
“With it impacting my job, the sooner I could get it done the better, so I took matters into my own hands and started the crowdfunder.”
Anybody who wishes to donate can do so by clicking here.
