Stockport County: Burnley blow will leave Hatters fearing repeat of 2023/24 problems - View | OneFootball

The forward had a nightmare start to his loan spell at Edgeley Park, and it'll be bringing bad memories to County fans

Highlights

Stockport County's pre-season fixture against Stoke City produced a lot of positives but one fear is the fate of Michael Mellon, especially against the backdrop of mounting injuries.

The 20-year-old arrived at Edgeley Park on a season-long loan from Burnley this summer and earned his first outing against the Potters, but was forced to withdraw early in the first half.

One injury to a young forward may not be a cause for immediate panic, but the Hatters already have a relatively extensive injury list before a ball has been kicked in the new campaign.

Mellon's potential setback will likely provoke bad memories from an otherwise positive season last term, which saw County mired in injury crisis after injury crisis.

Approaching the Hatters' first home fixture of this pre-season, fans were excited to catch a glimpse of their new players in action, not least Mellon himself, who was included from the off by manager Dave Challinor.

He had a positive start to the game, spreading the width towards the right and almost setting up Jack Diamond, which would have almost certainly produced a goal but for the miss-kick of his team-mate.

Sadly, that would remain Mellon's primary contribution to the game, as he began to limp and hobble around the pitch. He tried everything to continue after receiving treatment but was forced to withdraw minutes later, understandably looking very frustrated at the turn of events.

It will arrive as bad news to supporters too, who will recognise the similarities to last season's pattern all too well, and will hope County aren't setting up for more of the same this season.

It will add to County fans' growing fears for a repeat of last season

County's playing squad has undergone a fairly substantial overhaul this summer but, of those who were at Edgeley Park last season, only a handful managed to get through the 2023/24 season unscathed by injury.

It was not uncommon for Challinor to be forced to completely reinvent his squad due to an oversubscribed treatment room, with players often taking up improvised roles to cover for injuries.

They will have hoped that those concerns are firmly behind them, but as many as seven were already on the injury list before Saturday's game against Stoke - potentially making Mellon the eighth depending on the severity of his knock - all of whom are important for the first team.

The Hatters, thanks in large part to the work of director of football Simon Wilson, have recruited incredibly well this summer. They won't feel quite in crisis territory just yet, but it is a substantial number of players to have sidelined with the season still yet to kick off. Fans would be justified in fearing facing the same weekly bad injury news that they went through last term, despite still marching to the title on that occasion.

The young forward's start will not be what Burnley want to hear either

County, their fans and Mellon himself won't be the only parties dismayed by the young forward's unfortunate start, as it will also come as frustrating news to his parent club, Burnley.

Across loan spells at Morecambe in League Two and Dundee FC in the Scottish Premiership, Mellon had built up a steady momentum in his first full season in senior football, most notably notching 13 goals in 22 appearances for the Shrimps.

Strikers constantly remind fans how important momentum is for them to be on top form; something which could be even more important for a developing goalscorer like Mellon. His parent club will want him back in action as soon as it is sensible to do so, giving him the most time to settle into the third tier and use the experience to develop and improve on last season.