Millwall midfielder’s big relief at being back involved and explains why his own long-term future is not primary concern
Ryan Leonard is pushing any thoughts about his long-term future to one side as he focuses on helping contribute to Millwall’s play-off push.
The 30-year-old returned to the first-team fold at the end of January after five months out with an injury to his left hamstring.
Leonard suffered the issue in training after playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat at Norwich City in August. The former Southend United and Sheffield United midfielder complained of slight stiffness and a scan revealed a grade of ‘3c’ – a large tear – which should have kept him out for 10-12 weeks.
“Everyone was taken aback a little bit,” Leonard told the South London Press. “I didn’t think it was bad, at all. I just thought I had maybe tweaked it or it was just a little bit tight. When they told me the result I was like ‘wow, where has this come from?’
“I ended up being out for a bit longer. I was flying through my rehab, doing really well, and I was out running after five or six weeks. I felt really good.
“But everyone knows hamstrings can be a little difficult. A couple of weeks before I was due to be back in full training I just felt a little tweak in it – at a different point but in the same leg. That was a warning sign to kind of say it is not quite ready yet. We took a step back and said: ‘Let’s get it 100 per cent right, come back and have no problems’. Touch wood it has been fine and I’ve had no issues with it at all.
“It’s very much about the mental when you get an injury. You have to put it to the back of your head, work through it and get out the other side.”
Leonard returned as a 63rd-minute substitute in Millwall’s 1-0 win at Cardiff City on January 21.
“I’d been back for about five weeks training but the manager wanted me to have a big period of time to train, which is completely understandable,” said Leonard. “It’s one of the biggest reliefs you can have, when you have been out so long and get that first game under your belt.
“It’s nice to get it ticked off, not think about it and move on. I thanked all the fitness staff and physios after that, because it had been such a long process and a lot of hard work with them – when the other players are on days off or it is the afternoon then you are still in there doing extra bits in the gym.”
Leonard has made 110 league appearances for Millwall since arriving from the Blades in August 2018.
He is out of contract at the end of June.
“If the option is there I’d like to stay,” said Leonard. “I enjoy playing for the football club and I like playing for the fans and the manager. I’m settled in the area.
“You can’t worry about any other situation, because if you take your mind off the pitch then your performances drop.
“It’s an obvious answer, but you have to concentrate on what you’re doing on the pitch and hopefully everything else takes care of itself.
“For me the most important thing is staying fit and playing games. I’ll worry about that (his contract) when I need to worry about it.”
Millwall were unbeaten in 11 Championship matches at The Den before Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Norwich City.
Two low corners by the visitors ended in goals for Jacob Sorensen and Tom Bradshaw accidentally diverting into his own net.
“The result was a bit of our own doing, the two set-pieces were down to us,” said Leonard. “They are little details that we need to get right.
“There are positives to take from the game, it’s not completely negative. I don’t think it is all doom and gloom or the end of the world. Okay, they’ve jumped above us and we’ve moved out of the play-off spots but there are so many games to play, and points to pick up, between now and the end of the season.
“If you look at the matches before Norwich we’ve had four really tough games and picked up eight points.
“My first season here we were down the other end of the table, trying to survive. You’d rather have the pressure of trying to get where we want to get to now, rather than that.”