NICK Maggs thinks that Pewsey Vale have been dealt a massive blow after their ‘talisman’ Ryan Banks suffered a broken leg on Saturday.

The Pewsey captain was taken to Southampton Hospital after fracturing of his tibia and fibia in a challenge with New Milton Town’s goalkeeper last weekend and looks likely to miss the remainder of the season.

Vale were leading 2-1 at the time of midfielder Banks’ injury thanks to goals from Tom Ballard and Dan Sloan but after a delay of around 40 minutes whilst their skipper received medical attention, Maggs’ men ended up on the end of a 3-2 defeat.

The Pewsey manager was devastated to see Banks suffer a season-ending break and believes that he has a hard task to replace his captain’s dynamism in the heart of midfield.

“It was a really bad day for the club,” said Maggs.

“A pass was played back towards the goalkeeper but there wasn’t enough on it and Ryan’s nipped in.

“It was a 50-50 and you can’t blame the goalkeeper because he has to come out and challenge but Ryan is the kind of guy that always gets up after a tackle and as soon as he didn’t, you knew something was wrong.

“Ryan’s in his early 30s but I haven’t seen anyone else get up and down the pitch like him. He’s our talisman and I’ve got some job to replace his energy.

“He’s about to become a father for a second time and was due to move house this weekend but that’s all been thrown into turmoil now.”

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