Former Sunderland defender earns fresh start at Wycombe Wanderers

Jordan Willis has officially got his career going again, with him playing his first game in more than two years.

Author:
Michael Graham
Publish date:
Feb 11, 2023 1:07 PM EST

Former Sunderland defender Jordan Willis has found a new home after he signed for League One promotion-chasers Wycombe Wanderers.

Willis was a key player during his time at Sunderland but that all came to a crushing end when he ruptured knee ligaments

He suffered a major setback in his recovery too, meaning he was actually out for two years as he worked his way back to fitness.

He did all of that work at the Academy of Light with the Sunderland physios, but he left at the start of January with a clean bill of health to find a new club.

Willis signed for Wycombe, who Sunderland beat in the League One play-off final last season, in time to be on the bench for their 3-2 win over Derby on Saturday.

He has signed a deal until the end of the season.

“I had Jordan at Coventry City and he was very good,” Tony Mowbray said after Willis left Sunderland. “Whilst I didn’t see him play for Sunderland, I know what he would bring but he has picked up some bad injuries.

I feel he is at a level now where he ended up training over the last couple of weeks with the first-team. I feel that he needs to go and play now and get his career started again. Go and train with a first-team every day and show the manager that you warrant a place in his team.

“That is what we decided. It was a tough ask particularly with the central defenders and the right-backs that we have. There didn’t seem a very obvious route for him.

“I think it was for the best. I think he had an option to go and train. He’s fit but he has to overcome the mental scars of a long term injury and then once he does that, through repetition of training, hopefully he gets into the game scenarios, forgets about injuries and is the best version of himself.”

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