BEYER ON ‘MENTAL ROLLERCOASTER’ OF COMING BACK FROM INJURY

Centre-back discusses the challenges of his recovery & fighting to come back stronger

The past five months have been a challenge for centre-back Jordan Beyer as he recovers from a knee injury that has kept him out since December 2023.

Whilst a heavy emphasis is placed on the physical side of an injury, the 23-year-old has opened up about the mental strength that’s also required when ‘the biggest thing you have is taken away from you’ as part of the Premier League’s Inside Matters – a campaign that encourages fans to check in on each other and talk about mental health.

“It’s been quite some time unfortunately; I’d been struggling a bit with my knee and then at the Aston Villa game it basically came to a point where I just couldn’t continue, the pain was getting too much,” said Beyer.

“To be honest if somebody told me I wouldn’t be playing one more game this season I would have said ‘What are you talking about?’ Unfortunately, that’s how it is at the moment. It was a quite a serious injury I picked up in the end, there was a long time when we weren’t 100% sure what it was. But now, I’m just trying to get fit for next season.”

The journey back to the pitch has been mentally tougher as it took slighter longer to diagnose the problem early on before a treatment and recovery plan back to fitness could commence.

“It was really hard at the beginning because the doctors, everybody, couldn’t really put a time on it. How long it was going to take. So, that was really tough on me to accept because you just don’t know, you just have to see how the body works and every day when I wake up, I just hope oh man please let it be better, please let it be better.

“It took a long time to find out what was the cause of my problems with my knee. I had meniscus surgery in October when I got injured against Luton. Everything was fine. Then in December, something happened with my bone, and it just took quite some time flying around all over Europe to get the diagnosis, seeing specialists. It maybe wasn’t tiring for my body, but it was mentally tiring to get on another flight, see another specialist, talk about another opinion, get another scan, get this done, that done again.

“It’s been a real mental rollercoaster for me, as I was quite near to being back, the end of March, early April but then things got a bit worse again unfortunately. I had a little setback. I tried everything to be back on the pitch for another time this season, but it just didn’t work out, it wasn’t possible with my knee.

“I feel really unhappy with it but unfortunately that’s part of the job sometimes, you can’t influence what’s happening in the body.”

Having had minor niggles previously Beyer has been tested experiencing an injury that would keep him out for a prolonged period.

“The mental part is a huge part of an injury in terms of getting better. As stupid as it sometimes sounds, you heal better when you’re feeling positive.

“I didn’t have big injuries before, I always had something small. Most of them were two weeks or something, niggles, a few tears but nothing really serious. I’ve never been out for so long.”

And, whilst understanding he’s privileged to do the job that he does, he reflects that it can often be underestimated just how difficult it is having to watch from the sidelines.

“Mentally what people outside of football sometimes don’t understand is that football is our whole life. That’s why even when you’re injured, it gets on you because it’s the biggest thing you have. You’ve sacrificed all you have in life to be at this level, and somebody takes it away from you, it’s pretty hard. I think sometimes from the outside it looks easier than it is. I always stand in the gym, almost metaphorically watching out, seeing what could be.”

Often a solitary experience, completing an individual programme in the gym, receiving treatment in the physio room, not training with the squad, how does he stay upbeat and positive?

“Us injured players are in at the same time as the team, we work on our own programmes. Most of us guys with long-term injuries at the moment are doing really well. For a while a few of us just couldn’t do anything really. It’s just good to be around the team so you don’t feel like you’re on your own. I really always look forward to the mornings to be here and still feel like I’m part of it even though I can’t be out there on the field with the team. It just feels good to be around. I’m not going to lie it’s devastating to see the guys on the field playing and you just wish so hard you could be on there as well.

“Sometimes it’s hard to hide how you’re feeling about it. I just try to be positive but sometimes you have days when you think I can’t take this anymore, I just want to go home and everything.”

Alongside the support from his teammates, just how important has he found hearing their experiences of coming back from injury?

“We’ve a great bunch of players here who all look after each other. It’s good to talk to people who have also had long injuries, how they dealt with it. Even in my car school, I have Sander, Jacob, who have both had long injuries so to hear how they coped with it.

“Obviously, Vinny has also had big injuries before so it’s great to talk with him about how he dealt with it and still managed to be at the top, top level afterwards. Talking to Vinny is obviously a great, great thing for me because he knows exactly what I’m going through.

“I can’t be thankful enough for getting the medical support from everyone. It’s helped me talking to the doctors, the German doctors, specialists and just all getting on the same page to get me back. I’m really grateful for that and hopefully it’s working out as fast as possible. I can’t wait to be back out there.”

The Premier League’s Inside Matters campaign encourages football fans to kick off conversations and coming back from his injury has made it all the more important for Beyer to have support at home, and he’s thankful to have had his best friend by his side.

“I’m very grateful to have my best friend living with me this season. Last season I lived on my own, but it wasn’t quite as bad as I was playing, we won everything, we won the title, so many games you don’t really have time to think about it. But then if you get to a normal one game a week schedule, you’re injured and you’re coming home and nobody’s there it’s quite tough. Usually, I’m quite good at disconnecting from football but if you’re alone you can only think about that. So, I’m really grateful my best friend is here.”

Despite being unable to play since December, Beyer is full of admiration for his teammates and believes the side will continue to improve.

“I mean the Premier League is a whole different story than the Championship. And myself I’ll be honest I didn’t think it was that big of a difference. Then you get humbled pretty quickly. But I’m really, really happy to see what happened the past few months for the team, growing stronger and stronger.

“But I’m just happy for the lads for showing that we can be a really good, solid Premier League team that can compete with the big clubs, like drawing at Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford. I think those are big achievements that you can build on. I’m very proud of the guys, it just makes me happy to see them play.”

And with just under a week of the campaign to go, what will the summer hold?

“I can’t wait for the summer to finally see my family again. To get a few weeks to get my head clear. I’ve still got to work on it but just to be away from everything, be with my friends, be around my family, get some free time and then go again next season.

“I’ll keep working, to try to get myself in the best position to get as fit as possible.”

To find out more information about the Premier League Inside Matters campaign including resources to support mental wellbeing click here.