Ryan looks to rebuild career at Linnets

Ryan, 25, broke his leg in three places playing for Witton Albion at Marine in April 2018, having only recently returned to action following a broken jaw.

With him suddenly being faced by an indefinite absence due to his broken leg, Witton and their fans rallied round, setting up a crowdfunding campaign to support him.

Team-mates pledged the cash set aside for an end-of-season team holiday to help with compensating Ryan for loss of earnings while he recuperated.

That long recovery is now very near completion and he joined the Linnets on their return to pre-season training this week.

Ryan switched to Witton in July 2017 after spending the previous season with Stalybridge Celtic in National League North and scoring three goals in 19 appearances.

Before that, he had played in the EVO-STIK League for Burscough, enjoying 29 outings in 2015-16.

Linnets manager Michael Ellison said: "Nick is a top-class centre half and a great signing for us. After an awful injury, which sidelined him last season he's looking to get back playing and back to the level he was at.

"We will give him the platform to do that. He had a lot of clubs chasing his signature I'm delighted he chose us.

"I'd like to thank Witton's manager Carl Macauley for facilitating the signing. For my part, if Nick wanted to go back to Witton at any point, we would obviously not stand in his way."