Alastair Plummer is always injured or suffering aches and pains.

The Midlothians and Knoll defender so regularly turns up to matches for both his Saturday and Sunday sides with an excuse not to play that his team-mates have nicknamed him "Sicknote".

If it isn't his hamstring ligaments, the 23-year-old will have problems with his Achilles. If it isn't that his calf will be giving him grief - and other times he just doesn't feel good.

Alastair insists he has been having a run of bad luck for the last two years, but that doesn't stop his pals suspecting he is just picking and choosing the games he wants to play in.

Midlothians team-mate Terry Wilton said he is the Di Canio of the Brighton and District League.

He said: "It always seems that he is injured when there is a hard game coming up.

"Alastair will play in a match and then will be injured for a few weeks. Then he'll come back for one game, two maximum, and Alastair is crocked again.

"The boys are always winding him up. We reckon he bottles it."

But Alastair, who lives in Hove, insisted his injury problems are genuine.

He said: "It started about two years ago. I never hardly missed a game until then. But since I keep getting aches and pains all over.

"It really is bad luck. The annoying thing is that I only manage to get back for one or two weeks and then there will be something else wrong. I have to endure a lot of pain sometimes, which makes it impossible for me to play."

Despite his regular injuries, Alastair always manages to get along to the recreation ground on a Saturday and Sunday to cheer on his team-mates.

Alastair said: "The boys call me Sicknote, because they reckon I'm full of excuses, and I'll have to live with that until hopefully the day comes when all these aches and pains go away.

"But I'll rarely miss going to watch them from the touchline. Both teams are a cracking bunch of lads. It's just a shame I can't get out there a bit more and help them on the pitch."

Alastair had been telling Midlothians team-mates he would recover from his latest injury to make the squad for their Division Five promotion six-pointer against Real Brunswick this afternoon.

But prior to the game, Terry said: "We won't hold our breath. I won't be too surprised if he hands in his sicknote."

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