Heywood under 14 co-captain Owen Anderson recovering from horrific broken leg

The youngster suffered the injury in a tackle in the fourth quarter of the under 14 clash against Portland Tigers in the Greater South West Junior Football League which was abandoned on Sunday.

He will now miss the remainder of the 2022 season.

"I'll be in the long cast for the next month and hopefully after that I'll go to the short one and then in a moon boot for 12 weeks," he said of his injury.

Owen is an avid Richmond fan who enjoys watching Tigers superstar Dustin Martin play and has been playing football for four years, starting out in the centre after beginning his football as a defender.

He said he didn't remember the specific incident but wanted to thank everyone who came to his aid for medical attention and was determined to work hard and get back on the field in season 2023.

MORE SPORT:

Under 14 coach Jamie Mathys said the club would support the talented young footballer in his recovery.

"It was heart-breaking to see when it happened, a lot of the boys it sort of brought them to tears," he said.

"Being one of our leaders and our co-captain a lot of the boys and kids look up to him.

"To lose one of our captains, especially at this time of the year it's really devastating."

Mathys said Owen was a terrific talent who would work hard to get back on the field and was certain his young leader would be a major influence off the field for the remainder of the season.

"He'll definitely get himself back - at his age there's no point rushing an injury like this," he said.

"He's got a big future in the game and when you don't give the bone break appropriate time to heal it'll be detrimental down the track.

"He's one of those kids that eats, breathes and sleeps football.

"He just absolutely loves the game and a lot of the young kids really look up to him for inspiration so we're all behind him in his recovery."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.