Exeter City striker Robbie Simpson gave a pair of his boots to a fan who supported him through his rehabilitation from a nasty injury by Tweeting a picture of him every day.
Jack, under the Twitter username ExeterCityFanBase and handle @ExeterCity1904, posted a picture of Robbie every day from May 14, 2017 to January 9, 2018.
His original Tweet – when Robbie was a couple of months into his rehabilitation from a leg break suffered in City’s 2-2 draw with Blackpool on February 26 – said:
I'll tweet this photo of Robbie Simpson ( Ed Sheeran) EVERYDAY until simmo next nets one for #ecfc challenge on😉 pic.twitter.com/hsj9zfImhX
— ExeterCityFanBase (@exetercity1904) May 14, 2017
And Jack was true to his word and posted for the next 241 days, annoying a couple of his followers along the way.
I hope Tis puts him on pens. Fed up of seeing this everyday
— Somersetgrec (@somersetgrec1) July 28, 2017
And, in his first game back from injury, in a reserve match at Brentford, Robbie Simpson scored with his first touch.
“Tis (Paul Tisdale) said afterwards that I ‘should have carried on running and got changed straight away’,” laughed Robbie. “But it was nice to score.”
And that meant the Jack’s Twitter marathon was also over with him posting, on January 9.
*9/1/18*. The day simmo scored😍 what a beautiful sight. Can’t wait for this guy to be back firing for the first team👍 can’t wait to see you back in action. AND FOR EVERYONE THIS IS NOW OVER. I REPEAT THIS EVERY DAY IS O.V.E.R! It was fun while it lasted❤️😍 https://t.co/zwCVdUidfZ
— ExeterCityFanBase (@exetercity1904) January 9, 2018
Robbie, who admits his has been overwhelmed with the support he has received from fans, then gave Jack a pair of his boots at the club’s recent match with Coventry City to say thank you.
“I think it annoyed quite a few people – waking up to a Tweet from him every day and seeing a picture of me,” said Robbie. “It is a bit weird, I guess, but fair play to him. I really appreciated that support so I thought I’d give him a pair of boots.”
Robbie continued his rehabilitation on Monday when he played 60 minutes of the club’s 1-1 draw in the under-23 Premier League Cup match against Hull City.
“It was the first time that I have been back on the pitch at St James Park since I broke my leg,” he said. “It was also my first night game for about a year. So they were all ticks in the boxes at the moment. Hopefully, I can keep progressing and be back into first team action soon.”
“There have been plenty of really good wishes from fans, I can’t thank them enough,” he added. “When I came off (in the Hull City match) I got a nice round of applause. I really appreciate that and the support I have had over the past year.”