Last season was a total pain for Millwall defender Joe Bryan – former Fulham man tried to play through the pain barrier
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk
Last season was agony for Joe Bryan, and he literally has the scars to show for it.
The left-back has looked revitalised in Millwall’s friendly matches after undergoing groin surgery in late April.
Bryan’s problems started when he suffered an abductor injury while on loan at Nice in October 2022. Things went downhill from there.
“It got worse and worse,” the former Fulham defender, 30, told the South London Press. “It was about 18 months of bother and not feeling quite right. I’d forgotten what it was like to run about and actually open up, to feel free.
“You kind of get used to something and it had started to feel like normal for me. I was getting frustrated with myself – why don’t I feel like the player I used to be?
“I was in so much pain and I was playing through pain. It was two steps forward and one step back. Luckily I think the procedure I’ve had done has fixed everything. I don’t want to go ‘I’m the strongest I’ve ever been – it’s going to be amazing’ because, like, who knows? I’ve managed to get a good pre-season behind me and I’m feeling pretty fit.
“I was playing on painkillers and managing training loads, but when you manage training loads you are not out on the pitch and doing the work you need to be the fittest you can be. It’s a horrible balancing act.
“Last season was pretty horrendous, in regards to that.”
Bryan’s issues became so bad that he couldn’t strike a ball at full force from October onwards.
“I wanted to make myself available but when you play then you’re not quite at the level you want to be – so it’s equally frustrating,” said Bryan.
“Against Blackburn I did three or four injuries in one kicking motion.
“We went to see the specialist and the lads had done so well – we were near-enough safe (from relegation to League One) and I wasn’t going to be in a position to be on the pitch and help the boys anyway.
“I had a big double hernia both sides and also abductor problems.”
Bryan managed to make 25 appearances – 23 of those in the Championship – in his first season with the Lions.
He has looked razor sharp and hungry in the tune-up fixtures.
“As a full-back you need that lateral movement,” said Bryan. “The ball went over my head against West Brom last season and depending which way it goes you turn your body that way.
“I opened up, got my foot caught, and it (the injury) went again. (Grady) Diangana stepped across me and because I was in pain I just did this lazy little foot out. I thought: ‘This is getting worse and worse’. That was when the decision was made – I felt I was a hindrance on the pitch, because of the way I was feeling.
“It was pretty f****** horrible. I had big bandages in four places and the surgeon said: ‘For two weeks you’re not able to shower’.
“I had bottles of oral morphine and Diazepam…all sorts. I was on my own in my apartment – I’m not married and don’t have any kids. It was roasting hot and I was shuffling down to the coffee shop, then going home and sitting on my sofa. I was doing jigsaw puzzles!
“Everyone at the club was excited because we were safe. At the end of my days I was getting my baby wipes and giving myself a clean! It was a really shit time but I’ve got to 30 without having any surgery – I think I’ve done well to achieve that.
“After my second season at Fulham I probably haven’t played [really regularly]. To then go back into fully training [at Millwall] and playing every game. it meant everything went rip, rip, rip – that I wasn’t ready to do that.
“We’ll park that bedding-in season and hopefully this one I can show what sort of player I am, because I don’t believe last year was a representation of that.”
The bookmakers do not fancy Millwall to compete for the top six. Twelve months ago, after narrowly missing out on the play-offs, the South Londoners had been tipped to go well.
Bryan said: “With the work we have done in pre-season, we look very solid. It was disappointing on Saturday (a 1-0 defeat to Southampton). I should definitely have scored – it’s an unbelievable ball from Romain (Esse). He’s been so good in pre-season.
“Lukas (Jensen) will be disappointed to drop that ball (for Adam Armstrong’s goal) but if I score then all of a sudden you are looking at a 1-1, or even a 1-0 win.
“Defensively shape-wise we were really good. That is what we have to base ourselves on here – a really solid backline and being really difficult to beat, horrible to play against. Then let the front players – the likes of Rom and Aidomo – be the flair players that they can be.
“Casper (de Norre) and Sav (George Saville) can plays passes in for them. We definitely know what we’re good at.”
Millwall will also pay their respects to goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who died in June, before tomorrow’s league opener against Watford kicks off.
Bryan said: “It’s still very raw for a lot of us and incredibly sad, it will be for many years to come.
“We want to honour Matija and his family and the way the club has gone about that is phenomenal – retiring the shirt number is really good.
“We’ll definitely be focused on the match and wanting to get the three points, but equally we want to pay our respects to Mati and his family because it is such a tragic event.”