Jake Kenny Interview

We last talked with Jake 18 months ago as Colls were about to embark on their debut season in the Evo-Stik league. After playing in the Integro Cup semi-final at Hednesford last season, he then picked up an injury the weekend after away at Ossett Town, where he was captaining the team. A week of highs and lows, in a season of highs and lows! We caught up with Jake to check on his progress. Firstly Jake, could you tell us a bit more about the injury please, and how you started on the road to recovery? Did you have a program specific to your needs or any objectives early on? Yeah the injury was a bad one. I snapped my Anterior Cruciate Ligament in my left knee against Ossett Town in April but had to wait around till September for my operation which was tough to take. My Rehab was really basic at first, just getting the full range of movement back in my knee was the first objective. But that turned out to be quite tough as I got an infection on my shin after the operation which set me back a few weeks but everything seems to be moving along nicely now. An injury of this nature inevitably leads to time out of football, you've still been at training and games, have you been able to spend time doing things that otherwise you wouldn't have been able to? Yeah I think being around the lads and seeing everyone doing so well has made my recovery that bit easier, not having to rush. Since the injury I’ve graduated university and been applying for teacher training places and opportunities to gain experience, which has been nice being able to focus on that more and not just the football. Now that your rehabilitation has moved up a gear, what stage are you currently at? What are the next steps and have you put any time frames on those? Probably just past the half way stage of my recovery. I think it’s really up to me now to get in the gym and get back running and then finally get back to full training with Colls. I think it’s tough to put a time frame on a big injury like this so I’m just taking it in little steps to get back to where I was before. Ultimately, people want to know when we'll be seeing Jake Kenny back on the pitch and in a Colls shirt? Once I was aware of the seriousness of the injury I was just planning on being back for the start of pre-season because I knew it was it going to be a lengthy time out. But you never know if all goes well I might be back before the end of the season, fingers crossed. In closing, Jake added: I just want to say thanks to Cleggy, all the coaching staff, physios and all the lads for being there throughout my recovery at Colls. And finally to my Mrs and family for helping me along the way and being there when I have needed it most x We'd like to thank to Jake for taking the time to answer our questions and we look forward to his return!