Carlisle United’s head physio Chris Brunskill is set to leave the Blues after a season-and-a-half with the club.
United are advertising for a replacement after confirming Brunskill would depart this summer.
Manager Paul Simpson said the Cumbrian had made his decision for family reasons.
Brunskill has been United’s lead physio since December 2022 after replacing Ross Goodwin.
Simpson said he was disappointed to lose such a valuable member of staff but understood his reasons.
“It’s a disappointment but I totally understand it and totally respect it,” said Simpson.
“I had a conversation with Chris a few weeks ago, when he came to speak to me saying he was handing his resignation in.
“I’m a family man and I know the demands being involved as a member of staff in football – it’s a fantastic job, don’t get me wrong, but it takes over your whole life, and especially as a physio.
“He’s come into this job, he wanted to move back to Carlisle [from Lancashire], he’s got twins and another young daughter as well, and it takes its toll.
“He just said, ‘For my family I need to go and take a step back from professional football’.
“He wants to come back into football when his children are older, but says at this moment his priority has to be family.
“I totally understand and respect his decision. It’s a massive disappointment because I’ve really enjoyed working with him.
“He’s going to work his notice until the end of this season, I think to the middle of June, and we’ve got to try and find the right replacement.”
Brunskill’s departure means United are looking for their third head physio since the end of long-serving Neil Dalton’s tenure in the job in 2020.
Brunskill had previously worked in United's academy and then, after a spell with Blackburn Rovers, returned to Brunton Park in the lead physio position midway through the 2022/23 promotion season after Goodwin moved to Kilmarnock.
The Blues are adding to their medical department, with James Counsell joining from Blackpool in an assistant physio role, and he will work alongside Brunskill until the end of the campaign, while the recruitment process for the top physio job continues.
“James starts [today – Friday], he thought he was coming into a position where he was going to be assistant but he’s going to be playing a big part in it now,” said Simpson.
“I’m delighted James is starting with us, disappointed Chris is going but I’m just hoping we can get some good applicants when they see what we are planning to do with the football club.
“We’ve had to put an advert out to bring in a lead physio – someone who’s a chartered physio, because James isn’t that, and I hope we get some good candidates.”
That the move comes towards the end of the season may make the replacement process slightly less urgent, but Simpson said important work would still be needed in this department in the close-season.
“We’ll have lads who’ll still be doing rehab work – probably Taylor Charters will be at the end of his rehab, Josh Vela will be doing some rehab to make sure he’s ready to start pre-season, Callum Guy will need to be doing his rehab because the return to training and playing expectations are August, so he’ll need to carry on doing that work,” the manager said.
“Who knows, between now and then there might be others.
“We need to make sure we keep the facility available for players and we’ve got to get the right person in.”
Counsell, the new assistant physio, has been working as head of academy sports science and medicine at Blackpool for the past year, having been at the club since 2020.
He has also worked at Oldham Athletic and Manchester City.
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