Aldershot Town have confirmed the loan signing of defender Dan Ellison on a month-long deal.
Ellison is at League One side Bristol Rovers, who he joined this summer after a promising spell at Chippenham Town in the National League South. He is yet to feature for The Gas since signing a two-year deal at the club with an option of a third.
Shots have faced a major injury blow to Ollie Harfield, who was stretchered off of the field in the club’s draw at home to York City. The former Dagenham & Redbridge defender has played five times this season for Town, but Tommy Widdrington has confirmed that he has since had surgery to treat the issue.
In a pre-match interview with the club ahead of the match against Barnet, the former Rovers caretaker boss said: “It’s a major injury, obviously. We don’t know exactly because the medical people are yet to go inside and have a look.
“He’s had some surgery already and he’ll be in hospital until Friday. We all feel for Ollie, he’s been a top top lad for us since I’ve been in the club and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“It brought a real sickening feel to the pit of my stomach. It looks a very similar injury to what I did. Hopefully the medical world has moved on a bit and we can send him on the road to recovery.”
Ellison comes into the National League for the first time, having previously been called up to the England C team for his exploits with Chippenham Town. He was looked at by multiple EFL clubs over the summer, including Blackpool and Derby County, but opted to move to Bristol Rovers.
He had some involvement with Matt Taylor’s team during pre-season and in a match against Melksham Town, but did not make a single matchday squad for a competitive game this season.
Upon his arrival in Hampshire, Shots head of recruitment Jamie Hedges said: “With the unfortunate injuries we’ve had to the backline, we felt it was important to add more quality to this area of the pitch to add competition.”
“Dan is a great ball-playing defender, he has a great range of pass and looks to be positive and progressive with his passing. He’s also an aggressive defender that reads the game well and is a massive weapon from set pieces.”
Writer’s View
Dan Ellison is a real promising talent so getting some form of senior football is a great move for him. Aldershot Town isn’t a far trip away for him of a month so getting some well-needed minutes in the National League will do him wonders. Hopefully, a spell at Shots gives Matt Taylor some food for thought and get him involved in future cup competitions or even in League One action going into the future.
Town have had an okay start to the season. By no means it matches the form of last season which saw them narrowly miss out on play-offs and arguably deserve a place as a result of Gateshead’s removal from the post-season matches, but they have done decently well to be placed currently in 17th place. They travel to National League South champions Yeovil Town this weekend, a team that Ellison will be familiar with during his time at Chippenham.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
