An excerpt from this interview first appeared in this week's Claret and Amber Alert, a free Motherwell newsletter written by Graeme McGarry that goes out every Thursday at 6pm. To sign up, click here.
The physical recovery from a major injury is one thing, but as Callum Slattery is finding out, the mental battle is quite another.
The Motherwell midfielder has been quietly working away in the Fir Park gym over the past seven months as he tries to claw his way back to fitness, having suffered a devastating ACL injury in an innocuous training ground incident in January.
Hearing the news that he was set for a lay-off that could stretch to a year would be soul crushing at the best of times, but coming as it did amid a period when he was displaying the best form of his career, and with just six months left on his contract, it was a particularly cruel blow.
One day, he was flying, and the next, he was struck down. Digesting the mountain he would have to climb physically to even get back on the training pitch was the easy part, but finding the strength and the will to take those tiny, incremental steps day-in, day-out, is perhaps the thing that he is most proud of.
Finally, it all seems to be paying off.
“It has been frustrating,” Slattery said.
“I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel now, and rehab is progressing, which is good.
“But you know, it's been a tough few months. Obviously it helped that I kind of had the off-season to focus on that, and not miss any football, but with the season starting again, it's just been tough.
“But like I said, I see light at the end of the tunnel.
“It’s the first injury I've had in my career that's been this long really. It's been a new challenge.
“I think mentally it's tougher than it is physically. Don't get me wrong, physically, it's still tough, I'm in the gym every day. But again, that's the mental side of it, because I'm used to going in and leaving with the boys to go and train, but they go one way, and I go the other up to the gym.
“It's kind of getting your head around that this is the case, you're going to have to get used to it, sink or swim really in terms of dealing with it mentally, because there's always stepping stones and goals that you've got to reach, even when you're injured.
“So, it’s about trying to remain focused as much as you can, and stay motivated as well, because it's tough graft going in the gym when you're used to just running about every day.
“It has been difficult, but as I said, by ticking off each goal, it becomes more and more pleasing to see that I'm getting there.”
Getting back to where he was just at the point of his injury is another challenge. Slattery had been in the form of his life in the first half of last season, looking leaner physically and thriving in a more advanced role for Stuart Kettlewell’s side.
“It was probably the best football I've played,” he said.
“It was the best, probably, state I had been in mentally and physically it is the best shape I've been in.
“I was really enjoying my football. Everything was going for me and performances were going well and the team were doing pretty good as well.
“To get it at that time was a big blow because you don't expect it, especially in training. It's even harder to take when it's not like a big crunch and tackle in a game but it's just a small twist in training at the last minute or so and that ended your season there.
“That is what killed me even more really, there was about a minute to go of the training session. It was like a small coming together, but I was kind of off balance, and my legs got stuck, and yeah, I just felt everything go really.
“I knew instantly that I'd done something quite damaging.”
There have been dark days, as Slattery mentions, but he is grateful for the people within the club who have tried to ensure he still feels a part of things.
“It can be very lonely,” he said.
“But the boys have been fantastic making sure I stay part of the group. We have a good changing room, we have a good dynamic around the place, so I still feel quite involved with the team, which is good.
“And of course, I catch up with the manager every now and then, and he's keeping track of my progress, which is nice.
“And I spend every day with the physio David Henderson, and he's been great to me.
“I'll be honest, I hate matchdays. I absolutely love them usually and I can't wait for a Saturday morning to wake up and know that I've got a game.
“But obviously since my injury, my Friday nights have been a lot different. Usually, I'm prepping for a game, but now I don't have that to look forward to the next day, so I just have to be up on a Saturday morning and go into the gym, get my session done before the lads come in and then I'm up in the stands to watch it.”
Of course, he has had a little more company in the physio room and gym at times lately, with the ongoing injury crisis at Fir Park afflicting many of his teammates, although thankfully none of them have suffered to the same degree as Slattery.
“As much as it is nice to have other lads up there, being up there for the period I've been up there, I've seen lads come in and leave two weeks later or come in and leave a month later,” he said.
“I like the lads’ company, but I never like it when I see them having to come up and join me in the gym or the physio room, because I just know that that's one less player for the team, and also I know the feeling of getting injured.
“So as much as I do like it and I like to have the company, I'd rather be in there, and everyone be out there and still fit.”
Slattery has been at Motherwell for close to three years now, and that stay is set to continue as the club moved swiftly to allay any fears he had over his future following his injury setback by offering him a two-year contract extension.
“I'm really grateful to the club for sticking by me,” he said.
“Obviously, it was a period of time where I think I had maybe six months left on my deal. It wasn't something I was focusing on at that time because I was in good form on the pitch.
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“When you're in good form, you just don't want to think about anything else and you want to just focus on what's happening in the now and carry on the form you're in.
“It wasn't something I was thinking about until I got injured. It's a nine-to-12-month injury, and I didn’t have a contract in six months.
“Obviously, it's really great from the club and it's something that makes me want to get back playing now even more and play a big part in this season as well.”
It is one of football’s great cliches that an injured player becomes even better in the memories of fans the longer their absence goes on, but anyone who has watched the midfield mix at Motherwell this season couldn’t help but conclude that they could be doing with Slattery in there.
The main issue has been connecting that midfield to the attack, a role that the 25-year-old had been carrying out with relish before his lay-off, and he does believe he can offer something different in the middle of the park when he returns.
“I'd like to think so,” he said.
“I kind of back myself that I bring something different to the squad when I'm fit and playing the way I like to play.
“There was a freedom that the manager gave me to start last season to go and express myself and combine with the players at the top end of the pitch, and be that support for the strikers.
“That's why I'm looking forward to getting back as well, to bring something different and play my game, but also there's a lot of lads that have arrived since then too.
“I haven't played with these players so for me it's exciting to get back and get used to playing with these players and form relationships that work on the pitch.”
So, when will that be exactly? The nature of such injuries makes it impossible to say precisely, but Slattery has circled a few dates in the fixture schedule.
“I'm aiming to be back [in full training] the middle of November, so end of November, early December,” he said.
“I've had a look at the December schedule and it's pretty packed, so I'm hoping that in and around that time I'll be up to full speed, and I’ll have had lots of sessions under my belt and maybe some reserve games and stuff like that, just to get back into what it's like playing a game.
“Then maybe by that December schedule or end of November schedule I'll be raring to go and play a big part.
“I honestly can't wait, even just to run. I can't wait for the day I can just stick the boots on and get out in the grass and start running, jogging, which is not too long.
“I've obviously come to terms with the injury, and I've gone through tough stages and it's still tough at the moment. But I can't wait to get back out there and play a part come Saturdays.”
