Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

He readily admits he has "big shoes to fill", but Tom Jones is far from daunted by the task ahead and is just grateful for the chance to finish the job he started as a student after being appointed Altrincham's new sports therapist.

Tom was reaching the business end of his sports therapy degree course at the University of Central Lancashire when he answered a call to fill a vacancy on a temporary placement for the last few months of our final season as a part-time club.

The best part of five years later, he's back - and this time it's for good after he accepted an offer to succeed Tommy Uda in a role that is increasingly in the spotlight as the demands of modern-day football continue to take their toll on players.

Newly-appointed he may be, with another Enterprise National League campaign close at hand, but he's already feeling at home, given the familiar faces from his previous four-month spell at The J.Davidson Stadium and the fact he has already worked with Olly Crankshaw and Kahrel Reddin at other clubs.

In addition, any player needing his services can count on empathy as well as expert care for one very good reason. He's been on the treatment table himself.

An all-round sportsman, he saw his cricketing dreams scuppered by a double stress fracture of the back, and he is currently recuperating from an injury that only needs introducing by its initials to make it instantly recognisable to everyone at Alty - the dreaded ACL.

First things first, though - how did he get into sports therapy?

"I went to high school in Golborne, between Wigan and Leigh, and a college nearby soon after that, but sport was always the big thing for me," he said. "Cricket, in particular. I went through all the different age groups at Lancashire, playing with the likes of Haseeb Hameed, the Parkinson twins and Josh Bohannon, but they released me when I got to under-19s level.

"Even then, I took time out from my college course to pursue a cricket opportunity in Australia and then the UK, but I had to drop out after picking up an injury.

"I was down in London with the MCC Young Cricketers at the time, and I was a left-arm pace bowler, so when the injury was diagnosed as a double stress fracture of the back, I knew that was pretty much that.

"I admit I sat around feeling sorry for myself, but not for long. It actually spiked my interest in sports injuries, and I soon enrolled on a sports therapy course at the University of Central Lancashire. It's funny because I never considered myself particularly academic as a youngster, but this was different.

"Because I found it so interesting, it soon became my main focus. I got my head sorted, really knuckled down to it and became absolutely dedicated to doing the best I possibly could, and the consequence of that was I ended up with a first class honours degree."

It was four years ago that he graduated, and Tom had already sampled the practical side of his studies at Alty a few months earlier. Full-time employment soon followed.

"I was fortunate enough to secure a job straightaway at Motherwell," he said. "I spent a year there, learning from the Scotland national physio David Henderson, who was brilliant with me. You can't buy experience like that.

"I headed back south after that to take up a position with Stoke City's Academy, dealing predominantly with the under-16s but later moving up to the under-18s and under-21s, and I found that incredibly rewarding.

"Admittedly, I was firmly down the professional sports avenue as a player before the back injury happened, but I'm not the first to have to forget being a player because of a medical problem, and I've no regrets whatsoever.

"I wouldn't change a thing, and I can honestly say it has given me a real sense of satisfaction being able to give something back to young sportsmen and helping them deal with injury setbacks, which was certainly the case at Stoke."

So, how will your week pan out when the season gets underway, do you think, and what's all this about you doing an ACL yourself?

"Yeah, I did it playing football, and it's still there at the moment," he said. "This sort of injury does seem to happen a lot, and we will be looking into it along with everything else every time we are in at Egerton.

"But there isn't one particular thing that predisposes someone to an ACL - it's very much multi-factor.

"There may be strength deficits in some players that we can pick up on in pre-season screening and work on, but football is so fast-paced these days, you can never predict foot placement, the knee angle, the trunk angle, the velocity of movement through the lower limb or even contact, which can be a massive element in this sort of injury.

"It's a tricky one, but generally we will be trying to come up with a wide-reaching plan to keep the players as injury-free as possible.

"Sports medicine has developed significantly over the years. There is more awareness of imagery procedures and recovery protocols, of screening injuries and assessing them and planning rehab either in the gym or on the grass to try to limit the recurrence rates. That is what we are judged on as a medical department.

"It's about everyone being on the same page - the department as a whole, the gaffer, Sorvs, all of us - and the conversations we have had so far have shown we are all aligned, and that is just an extension of the work Tommy Uda did here.

"Tommy has been fantastic for the club and for me. I've spoken to him quite a few times now, and if it wasn't for him, this club, and certainly the squad of players, wouldn't be in the position we are in. They are big shoes to fill."

How influential was Phil Parkinson in persuading you to fill them?

"My first impressions of Phil were how thorough he was and down-to-earth, and he gave me that first opportunity as a student that not many managers would have done," he said.

"How genuine he was with me made a lasting impression and stayed with me, so to be back working with him and Sorvs now is really nice for me, and I just hope I can finish the job I started as a student to make him proud and do the club justice.

"I knew there was a void to be filled when Tommy left, but I was away at the time. I briefly spoke with Phil on the phone, and when I got back, I was soon up at Egerton, having a proper chat, and things went really quickly from there.

"This is my first opportunity at senior first-team level, and I'm really looking forward to it. I absolutely love the job and relish coming in to work every single day.

"The players have been great. There are a few from when I was here before, I was at Motherwell when Olly Crankshaw was there on loan and I was with Kahrel Reddin at Stoke, so I'm not going in at the deep end too much.

"I hope I don't see too many of them at close quarters as the season unfolds, but if I do, it will be my job to fix them, and I'll do it to the very best of my ability."