Millwall’s Joe Bryan on mental ‘funk’ after groin injury and why he is still working his way back to peak sharpness

Joe Bryan’s start to the season has mirrored Millwall’s – a little bit too stop-start. So his excellently-executed equalising goal in last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Hull City was certainly a step in the right direction.

The 30-year-old scored for the first time in the Championship since his double in the play-off final at Wembley in August 2020 downed Brentford and took Fulham into the Premier League.

Bryan signed for the Lions on a free transfer in July and has started five of their opening eight league fixtures.

He missed the 3-1 defeat at Norwich in August after suffering a concussion in training. A groin strain then sidelined the former Bristol City man at the start of October, forcing him to sit out a draw at Birmingham and the Den loss to Leeds United.

His measured finish across Hull keeper Ryan Allsop was a feel-good moment for the South Londoners before a temporary shutdown for the international break.

Not that Bryan jumped on social media looking for praise afterwards.

“I had a few texts from friends and family, which was nice, but I’m not one for scouring Twitter or news sites for ratings, nice comments or horrible comments,” he told the South London Press. “Very early in my career I learned not to do that.

“I’ve come to Millwall to do things like that (his goal on Saturday) – to contribute and score goals. It feels like, slowly but surely, I am getting back to the level I should be at, in terms of performance.

“I’ve been quite open about it. I don’t think people ever realise how long it takes to get fully match fit when you have not played for a long time. It takes your body a very long time to get there.

“At the start of the season I had one or two little knocks.

“For the concussion I just went up for a header and got caught. I doubt if it was mentioned (by the club) but they had a protocol that they had to follow to the letter. You can’t mess around with things like that.

“It was frustrating because it was just another little thorn in my side to getting a run of games.

“It had been two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back – so to play a significant role in the last three-game week was a really big thing.

“I’m getting to the fitness levels and performance levels where I can affect games positively again, while still playing the majority of the minutes.  When you have not done that for two or three years it’s difficult to go into one of those weeks where it is Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, it is very hard on your body.”

Bryan has talked about his mental health issues in the past – coping with anxiety and depression while on Fulham’s books.

Tuesday was World Mental Health Day and Bryan did a video with the club talking about some of the mechanisms that keep him in a good place. He keeps a journal and has interests away from football, including taking up photography.

Bryan has revealed the groin injury caused a setback.

“Sometimes in life when you have five or six things go against you over a period of weeks you get a little bit down,” said Bryan. “I felt myself going into a little bit of a funk.

“By chance I ended up sitting down with my best mate Dan in a coffee shop and chatting about it. All of a sudden, when you’ve spoken about it, you realise life isn’t so bad – that I’d be back fit within a week and off you go.

“It’s just normalising it. ‘I’m having a bit of a s*** time of it at the moment – I don’t feel right’. ‘So am I mate – that’s pretty normal, isn’t it?’ We all go through it but as men we are supposed to be very strong and not show any weakness.”

Bryan is full of praise for the role Casper De Norre played in his first goal for the Lions.

The Belgian midfielder, also a summer transfer window addition, threaded a pass to Bryan on the left of the Hull box.

“I played with Cyrus Christie for three or four years at Fulham – so I know he would probably try and block the shot,” said Bryan. “That helped a little bit.  The angle was a little bit off, so I needed to buy myself a little more space. I sold a little dummy and luckily he went for it and the goal opened up.

“I didn’t really think about it but as soon as I got the ball I thought ‘I’m going to score – this is great’.

“Casper’s pass into me was perfect, it set me up for the goal purely because the weight of it and where it went.

“That pass appreciation is something that often gets overlooked in football.

“We talk about a pass speaking to you, and I knew what I had to do with that ball from the weight he put on it and the direction it was going.

“It is something brilliant that Casper has brought to the club – that little bit of calm in the middle and keeping the ball moving. On top of that there is his tenacity and break-up play as well, he’s been fantastic the last few weeks.

“He is a very talented footballer and has that quality on the ball that the manager wanted to bring in over the summer, that’s the sense I got whenever I spoke to him about perhaps wanting to play a little bit more while also having that edge – if we have to roll our sleeves up and get stuck in. He can do that.

“Off the pitch he is another really nice boy who seems to have settled in with the squad.

“He fits in with the ethos and team spirit at the club, which is a testament to the recruitment team. When players fit that seamlessly into the group off the pitch it is just as important as on the pitch.

“It stands you in good stead over the long term, in regards to building a team and having success.”

Bryan would like to add more goals to his game, scoring 28 in 373 career appearances.

“I wouldn’t say I worry about it  – I’m a defender who attacks,” he said. “It’s just nice to get a goal. But I’m not going to get to the end of the season and go ‘I didn’t score five goals and get 10 assists’. I would probably look more across my performance in general.

“As a player you kind of know, when you come off the pitch, if you have been good or not – whether you have kept a clean sheet, scored or assisted. I tend to measure my performance on things like that, rather than a whole load of stats.”