Danny Grainger makes a young fan's day
The club were very upset to hear of a nasty incident which left young fan Charlie Bowman with two broken bones and a broken wrist in his right arm on Friday, and we were deeply concerned to hear that such were the extent of the injuries that he was taken into theatre for an operation later that same afternoon.When mum Danielle told us that the surgeons were ready to cut seven-year-old Charlie's beloved Carlisle United shirt off to allow access to the arm we immediately set a plan in process to make sure he would have one of this season's brand new home tops to wear as soon as he was fit and well.
And this is where team captain Danny Grainger stepped in.
"I was told that Charlie had mentioned I was his favourite player so we got together at the Club and we decided to arrange a visit so I could give him one of our new shirts," he explained. "The look on his face when he came out of the kitchen to see me in his front room was amazing.
"He's a wonderful little lad and it was nice to be able to make him smile again after he'd been through such a horrible experience. I signed the pot on his arm, and one of his old shirts, and we're going to get him along to a game in the near future as my special guest."
Mum Danielle said: "He knew nothing about the visit but he actually said this morning that it would be really good if Danny came to his house. When I asked him why he'd said that it was because he thought it would be a great way of learning new football skills.
"Carlisle United have made a little boy very happy and we can't thank them enough for that."
And the final word has to be Charlie's.
"Danny is my favourite player because he gets lots of red cards*," he explained. "He's a good player and I said thank you very much for coming to see me and for my present. My arm was sore but I hope the doctor will say it's getting fixed when I see him again on Friday."
*Note - at this point Danny interrupted and said: "Oi, Charlie, that's not me - that's Luke Joyce!"
Click HERE to watch a video from Danny's visit to Charlie's house.