Imps misfit Tyler Walker has joined National League side Wealdstone on loan until the end of the season.
It likely brings to an end a failed second stint with City for Walker, who has suffered horribly with injuries since joining on a free transfer in the summer of 2022/23.
Walker, who enjoyed a fruitful loan spell with us in the 2019/20 season, was the marquee signing of the previous summer, starting the first game of the 2023/24 season up front with Ben House. Three days later he started again, as we beat Notts County in the League Cup, but those starts were to prove a false dawn.
He started once more, away at Shrewsbury, before a season-ending injury in September. That left us desperately short of strikers, a situation we had to endure until the New Year, when we recalled Freddie Draper and loaned Joe Taylor. He made a brief appearance on the final day of the season against Portsmouth, giving us a glimmer of hope he might be a key figure this season.
He battled back to fitness, only to suffer a second, fresh injury while on the club’s pre-season trip to Malaga. This time, the club were in no dire need of a striker and he could take his time to return. He was due out until Autumn, but that became winter. He came on in our EFL Trophy game against Morecambe, looked decent and then suffered yet another setback.
There ended his Lincoln City career, three starts of five sub appearances the total of his two-year stay in red and white. Of course, he remains an Imps player, but there’s little to no chance of him getting a new deal in the summer, and this move could set him up for a fresh start somewhere next season.
I feel for Tyler desperately because the promise he showed in spells with us and Mansfield just never came to fruition higher up the divisions. He’s been blighted by injury, but one thing is for certain—if he is fit and able to perform, Wealdstone will get a huge lift in their quest for National League survival. The Stones are currently in the bottom four but have games in hand of both Dagenham and Fylde above them.
You must be logged in to post a comment.