Exeter City’s has comfirm injury of 16 months to miss next coming matches

Injury is always the worst part of sportsman’s career, so knowing you are facing 16 months on the sidelines is not only a physical challenge to overcome, but a mental one too. That was the situation facing Exeter City midfielder Kyle Taylor back in March 2022 when he collapsed to the ground in agony, just minutes after giving Exeter the lead in a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic.

It was immediately clear that Taylor had suffered serious injury and it happened at the worst time too. The goal was his first for the Grecians, who were in the midst of an ultimately successful promotion battle from League Two

I’d had a bit of a nightmare weekend actually because my alarm didn’t go off on the Friday, so I actually missed the coach on the Friday morning and then I had to catch up with it!” Taylor recalls of that fateful weekend.

Read More – Exeter City look to impress on Sky Sports away to Portsmouth

“I started the game and did OK and then scored and then I obviously hurt my knee in that game. It was a bittersweet moment because it was a big game, coming towards the end of the season when we needed points, so I was obviously happy to get the three points… but I also had a rough idea that I’d done something quite serious.

“I have good and bad memories, but we obviously then went on to get promoted that season, which was great. Obviously, it’s been a long time on the sidelines now, and I am just happy to be back

No one knew the severity of what Taylor had done until the results of his scans revealed all. The now 24-year-old had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, damaged the cartilage on both sides, damaged his medial ligament and also suffered damage to the bone. Even City’s then manager Matt Taylor described it as ‘the worst injury a footballer can get.’

Sixteen months on, though, and after several setbacks and countless hours in the gym, Kyle Taylor is back and doing everything he can to make up for lost time.

“It was really difficult,” he said. “I had a few friends from Bournemouth and other clubs that had been through a similar thing and had done their ACL as well, so I had a lot of people to lean on and speak to at that time and everyone was great here throughout all of my rehab, so I was really grateful that I had a lot of people and a lot of support.

“The best thing for me personally was to try and switch off from it a little bit, knowing how long I’d be out for. And then as you build back, and you start to get to a return, you can gradually build yourself back into it and get more involved with things.

“I tried to detach myself a little bit because if I was around the boys – and watching them train and playing games every week – I think I would have struggled a lot more. When you are watching it, or looking out the window from the gym, you just want to be out there and knowing you can’t be for a long period of time, it can be tough.

“But you just have to refocus and get used to doing the same thing day in, day out and set new goals. They might not be out there on the pitch, or on a Saturday, but you know in months to come, you will be back out there, so it’s about putting yourself in the best place possible for that.

“You almost have to fall in love with going to the gym which, as a footballer, is probably the one thing you are not in love with because you just want to be out there. So I had to change my mindset and readjust the goalposts in a way and improve myself as much as possible inside.

“Then, when I was ready to come back, I was in a better position, but I am definitely not missing the gym every day and I am definitely happy to be back out there, that’s for sure.

“Being involved in the first three games of the season, is great. Sixteen months ago, I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing, so I am grateful to be back and grateful to everyone that helped me along the way.”

During his time on the sidelines, Taylor saw big changes as Matt Taylor left for Rotherham United and Gary Caldwell was appointed as his successor. There were changes on the coaching staff as well, while the revolving door didn’t stop there as many players left and new ones arrived.