Rehab Relapse
Credit:
After missing last week's game versus Dundalk, I returned to training on Wednesday night. After completing the full training session, I was very optimistic about playing some part in Friday’s match against Sporting Fingal.
On Thursday, One Escape gym in Smithfield was the venue for a long boring rehab session. Unfortunately, the hour I spent working on the injured leg had a negative effect and I woke up on Friday morning with a relapse of the injury.
As I mentioned in last weeks column, dealing with injuries and missing games can be the toughest thing a player has to cope with. After getting over the initial realisation that I wouldn’t be able to play, the first thing I had to do was make the dreaded phonecall to my manager to let him know.
For a player, phoning your manager on the morning of the game to tell him you can’t play can be hard. Over the years I have come across varying reactions from managers as how they deal with injured players (screaming down the phone, you have to play tonight, is certainly an interesting reaction and not one I was hoping for). Luckily for me, Pete is very approachable on the topic and he left the final decision up to me.
Since I began playing professional football, I have come across different situations where a manager has taken advantage of a player and forced him to play when he is not fit. On one occassion when I was 17, my manager at the time forced me to play when I had a bad hamstring strain. He outlined to me that if I made myself unavailable for this particular game I would be jeopardising my long term career at the club.
At 17 years of age, I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to the manager and stupidly played. I ended up coming off after 15 minutes and subsequently my injury was more serious as a result. Behaviour outlined above can be very common in the professional game and luckily for me I quickly learned from the experience and have never played when I don’t feel right.
Getting back to the match versus Fingal and me taking up my place in the stand, as the worst spectator in the world! The game certainly won’t be remembered as a classic. Fingal started the better in the first half and perhaps fortunately for us we went in at half time 0-0.
After one of Pete’s usual half-time ‘dressing downs’, the lads came out in the second half and really had a go. We were unlucky once or twice not to score but we managed to keep our impressive defensive record of five clean sheets intact.
In the end it finished 0-0, and was probably the right result. Even with the strength in depth in Fingal’s squad, being able to bring Glen Crowe off the bench, I feel they are a side we can set in our sights to finish above.
Eleven points from fourteen means we will be taking on Bohs in a top of the table clash on Tuesday night. I managed to complete a full training session yesterday and I'm optimistic about playing some part this evening. Hopefully for next week's column, I will be writing about my experiences as a player on the pitch rather than the trial and tribulations of an injured player off it.
On Thursday, One Escape gym in Smithfield was the venue for a long boring rehab session. Unfortunately, the hour I spent working on the injured leg had a negative effect and I woke up on Friday morning with a relapse of the injury.
As I mentioned in last weeks column, dealing with injuries and missing games can be the toughest thing a player has to cope with. After getting over the initial realisation that I wouldn’t be able to play, the first thing I had to do was make the dreaded phonecall to my manager to let him know.
For a player, phoning your manager on the morning of the game to tell him you can’t play can be hard. Over the years I have come across varying reactions from managers as how they deal with injured players (screaming down the phone, you have to play tonight, is certainly an interesting reaction and not one I was hoping for). Luckily for me, Pete is very approachable on the topic and he left the final decision up to me.
Since I began playing professional football, I have come across different situations where a manager has taken advantage of a player and forced him to play when he is not fit. On one occassion when I was 17, my manager at the time forced me to play when I had a bad hamstring strain. He outlined to me that if I made myself unavailable for this particular game I would be jeopardising my long term career at the club.
At 17 years of age, I wasn’t strong enough to stand up to the manager and stupidly played. I ended up coming off after 15 minutes and subsequently my injury was more serious as a result. Behaviour outlined above can be very common in the professional game and luckily for me I quickly learned from the experience and have never played when I don’t feel right.
Getting back to the match versus Fingal and me taking up my place in the stand, as the worst spectator in the world! The game certainly won’t be remembered as a classic. Fingal started the better in the first half and perhaps fortunately for us we went in at half time 0-0.
After one of Pete’s usual half-time ‘dressing downs’, the lads came out in the second half and really had a go. We were unlucky once or twice not to score but we managed to keep our impressive defensive record of five clean sheets intact.
In the end it finished 0-0, and was probably the right result. Even with the strength in depth in Fingal’s squad, being able to bring Glen Crowe off the bench, I feel they are a side we can set in our sights to finish above.
Eleven points from fourteen means we will be taking on Bohs in a top of the table clash on Tuesday night. I managed to complete a full training session yesterday and I'm optimistic about playing some part this evening. Hopefully for next week's column, I will be writing about my experiences as a player on the pitch rather than the trial and tribulations of an injured player off it.
About Damian Lynch
Premier Perspective: Damian Lynch is an extratime.ie columnist giving his views on the current state of the league as well as his own personal performance with St. Patricks Athletic. The Saints' skipper will give his … View Full Profile