All White Ryan Thomas has opened up about how he’s learned to cope with the long-term injuries that have disrupted his club and international career.
In an interview with ESPN Netherlands, Thomas (29) says dealing with the mental impact of his injuries has been challenging.
“I’ve just had a few moments in the last two years where I thought, yes, I’m actually just done with all those problems,” he said.
“You do everything to get fit and everything to play football and it just doesn’t work out.”
Midfielder Thomas is awaiting a return to first team play at his PEC Zwolle club who compete in the Dutch top-tier Eredivisie.
In PEC Zwolle’s latest game, a 2-1 loss to AZ Alkmaar, Thomas was an unused substitute.
Two weeks before, he managed 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors practice game against Jong FC Ultrecht.
READ MORE: All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas makes return after nine-month lay-off >>>>
His last competitive game was in December 2023.
The Te Puke-born midfielder is trying to resurrect his career which has been dogged by serious injuries, restricting him to 19 international caps over a 10-year period.
Thomas’ last season was prematurely ended by a serious knee injury, requiring surgery, and he went out of contract as the season closed.
Before that, he experienced a cruciate ligament tear, and needed operations on his knee and his ankle.
In his ESPN interview, Thomas says: “The body feels good, the knee feels good so it’s fine for now.
“Of course, (it’s) good to be back. It took a bit of a complication with the rehabilitation with that bone in my knee and a very long time to recover.
“In the end, it took maybe six or eight weeks to get all the muscles around it a little stronger before I started playing.
“But I feel good now. I move much better now than the last three years so that is also very important.”
Before his operation, Thomas was able to train and play, but his movement was restricted because of his knee problems.
“I now notice that I really played differently and now I am much freer. Now I can move much better so in the end it’s all good.
“I was born with a kneecap that is simply too high for me and that causes a lot of problems in the knee. That’s why I’ve had a lot of trouble with it over the last few years and a lot of pain too.
“That surgery was to break off that kneecap a little bit and then pull down that bone underneath and then attach it.
“That’s why that bone had to recover properly and that’s why you took a little longer. The kneecap is in the right place so now I can finally move properly.”
Dealing with the mental pressures was an important part of his rehabilitation, he said.
“Mentally, I knew that I could do this operation, but you have to get through six months or nine months with all that pain and all that fluid. I tried to do something else at first and finally managed to do this operation.
“Mentally, it is difficult to go to a stadium every day and train every day and in the end you know that it is not going to work.
“I have a lot of problems just mentally trying to appear somewhat positive. That’s not always here, because at the stadium I’m pretty good and I’m never complaining.
“But it’s more like home. I feel more like I was a little less cheerful.”
His approach to games and even opponents has changed during his rehabilitation.
“I hardly watch football anymore. I watch those big games, but not much else.
“We go to a team and I don’t even know who plays there and maybe that’s good, maybe it’s also bad, but that’s how I deal with football now.
“I can’t give everything to football now, otherwise I’ll go crazy.”
While Thomas has worked to regain his fitness, PEC Zwolle have shown their faith in him, agreeing a new contract till mid-2025 and appointing him as their club captain.
He has had two spells at the club, making 167 first team appearances.
Between spells at PEC Zwolle, he joined Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in 2018 but the former Melville United, Waikato FC and Western Suburbs player never got a clear run of games because of injury.
Now, as he approaches his 30th birthday, he’s ready to give his career another shot …
Watch Ryan Thomas’ full interview
The following interview is conducted in Dutch. Our story includes his comments translated to English.
This story was first published on September 21, 2024.
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