Harrogate’s injured captain Josh Falkingham must hide personal heartbreak on Saturday when his League Two side take on hometown club Leeds at Elland Road in the FA Cup.
Lifelong Whites fan Falkingham, who spent 11 years in their academy before going on to lead Harrogate’s climb into the English Football League, will miss his dream third-round tie after sustaining a sickening ankle injury last month.
The 34-year-old midfielder from Rothwell is recovering from surgery and will watch the first competitive meeting between the two Yorkshire clubs from the dugout.
🎟️ Our full allocation for Saturday's trip to Elland Road is now 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩
All tickets must be collected from @HTAFCStore by 4pm Friday pic.twitter.com/yQjCyyEKxn
— Harrogate Town AFC (@HarrogateTown) January 6, 2025
Falkingham, who ruptured a ligament which helps connect the tibia and fibula five days after the draw was announced, told the PA news agency: “My initial feelings were just devastation.
“Everybody around me knew it. The timing of it, what it meant. It’s the biggest disappointment of my career.
“It’s going to hurt at some point on Saturday and I’ve spoken to the manager and people around me about that.
“But there is no way I’ll let any negativity affect the camp. It’s not about me. It’s about Harrogate Town and giving as much help to the lads going out there to try and get a result.
“They can do the town and the club proud and I can offer advice and encouragement. That’s all it’s about. That’s what I’ll be trying to do.”
Falkingham revealed his only previous ankle injury scuppered his hopes of making the first-team breakthrough at Leeds as a teenager, having joined their academy aged eight.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I do believe everything happens for a reason,” he said.
“Under (former Leeds manager) Gary McAllister I was really close. So to go full circle, to get that FA Cup draw and then miss out again due to another ankle injury. It was not meant to be.
“All I ever wanted to do was to play at Elland Road. I’d only played for the reserves there. Not just for me personally, but for my family, especially my dad, who’s a massive Leeds fan.
“It would have been for everybody else, my mum, my uncle, to see me walk out there. I would have been giving them something back after the commitment they had given me from such a young age.
“If I needed to tick off anything on the bucket list in football, Elland Road for me was top.
“But I’ve always been a positive lad. It took me 48 hours to swallow it and my sole focus now is to do as much as I can to help the lads.”
Harrogate are currently bidding to steer clear of a relegation battle in their fifth season in the Football League after winning promotion for the first time via the play-offs in 2020.
They secured their plum tie at Leeds by beating Wrexham and Gainsborough earlier in the competition and have never reached the fourth round.
Simon Weaver’s side halted a seven-game winless run last week with a timely 2-0 victory at Barrow to leave them five points clear of the drop zone.
“We’ve never really had a glamourous cup tie like this,” added Falkingham, who spent six years in Scotland with St Johnstone, Arbroath and Dunfermline following his release from Leeds in 2010.
“The buzz that the draw gives you, as a lower league professional, is incredible.
“But ultimately, our aim is to stay in the Football League and get out of the position we’re in and I’m sure the manager will add to that.
“Having said that, if we put in a performance and get a result at Elland Road, the confidence and momentum that will bring to the group would be huge.”
