No Portsmouth reunion for four-time promotion winner flourishing at Wrexham after Fratton Park agony
The midfielder featured 79 times for Pompey, scoring three times, before leaving under Danny Cowley
He has bounced back with four successive promotions since triple Fratton Park agony - and also possesses Ryan Reynolds’ phone number.
But serious injury rules Andy Cannon out of a Pompey reunion on Wednesday night (8pm) when Wrexham visit the south coast.
Now aged 29, the energetic midfielder was with the Blues during successive League play-off semi-final elimination to Sunderland and Oxford United, plus EFL Trophy defeat at Wembley during Kenny Jackett’s time.
However, since leaving on a free transfer under Danny Cowley in June 2021, Cannon has managed to win promotion with Stockport (once) and Wrexham (three times).
Sustained ACL injury in February
Frustratingly, he has yet to feature for the Red Dragons in the Championship this term after fracturing his ACL against Mansfield in February.
With a scheduled return date of December, it is inevitably a long road to recovery for the ex-Rochdale man, yet his spirits have been boosted by joint-owner Reynolds.
Speaking to former Wrexham players Ben Foster and Ben Tozer on 'That Wrexham Podcast', the former Pompey man said: ‘They contacted me right away. You know what they're like after a game. If you have a good game, you score or you do well, there's a message off them.
‘As soon as I did it, there were messages from both the owners. A couple of weeks ago, Ryan was sending me videos, which is still a bit mad. They were just funny ones.
‘He had his daughter on one of them, beeping her out and pretending she was swearing. It still looks a bit mad when you see Ryan Reynolds pop up on your phone.’
‘I think it's the one which everyone dreads in football when you hear it's your ACL. As soon as I heard a pop, I knew it was bad. I was on the floor just trying to straighten my leg because it was a bit bent on the floor and I couldn't move at all.
‘I genuinely thought my leg was facing the other way to be honest. I was running and the ball was coming towards me. As soon as it bounced, I landed heavily on my leg and I heard the pop.
‘I was just like, 'Oh, that felt a bit weird,' and then the pain kicked in about ten seconds after. Adrenaline's a funny thing. It can get you through so much, but I'd say about ten seconds after I was on the floor, that's when everything started kicking in.’
Signed from Rochdale in January 2019
Then-Pompey boss Jackett snapped up Cannon for an undisclosed fee from Rochdale in January 2019 to bolster his team’s League One title push.
However, injury restricted Cannon to just two appearances during the second half of that season as they collapsed into fourth spot and ended up being eliminated in the 2018-19 play-off semi-finals to Sunderland.
Free from injury in 2019-20, Cannon made 28 appearances and featured in both play-off games as Oxford defeated Pompey 5-4 on a penalty shoot-out.
He then made 49 appearances and scored twice in 2020-21, having established himself as a first-team regular, only to miss the March 2021 EFL Trophy final at Wembley through injury as Salford won on penalties.
Fratton Park departure
At the end of that campaign, with Cowley appointed permanently following an interim spell as head coach, Cannon joined Hull on a free transfer in June 2021 after 79 games and three goals for Pompey, before winning promotion from the National League while on loan at Stockport.
In December 2022, he returned to the National League to join ambitious Wrexham and, since then under Phil Parkinson, they have achieved three successive promotions to reach the Championship.
However, while the 15th-placed Welshmen visit Fratton Park on Wednesday evening, Cannon will not be involved as he continues to battle his way back.