If you look at his injury history, luck doesn't seem to come into it. He's simply fragile; he has been from the start. That's not back luck. It's the body you're born with and what you choose to do with it.

He'd had serious injuries of 16 and 34 days out BEFORE he came to Palace (but we signed him anyway). He was out for 5 days with a bruised rib immediately after joining us and within two months of returning from that was out for 83 days with two calf injuries. He followed that with 470 days out as a result of his cruciate tear. When he came back, two weeks after returning he was out for 63 days with a groin strain. He came back two months after that in pre-season (201 and without playing a competitive game, went down for 82 days with another calf injury. 11 days after he came back from that, guess what? He went down for 43 days with a thigh muscle strain. And within 6 weeks of returning from that, he was out for 35 days with the proverbial "knock". The funny bit? That's when we extended his contract by a year. A year during which another knock kept him for 45 days.

Look at those injuries. No broken bones. Only one tear, albeit a serious one. The rest are all soft tissue injuries. That tells you one of two things; Either a). Wickham doesn't put an awful lot into rehab, or b). He simply does not have the body required to play professional sports. The latter may be harsh, but unless he's a slacker (see point A) it's clearly true. Either way, it's not down to luck. And Preston and MK Dons frankly deserve what they get. Any club signing a player with the injury history above is either desperate, dim, or both. As for Wickham, he needs to collect his insurance and retire.

Chief Physio at Milton Keynes Dons Adam Ross has just released a statement expressing his excitement at Connor Wickham's signing.

Please mods, any chance to close this thread? CW was a waste of our time and money, and an insult to 55 years of paying for a season ticket. And, in my view, took the club and fans as mugs for money.