WHILE it remains an outside possibility, former Bathurst ’75 talent Rhyan Grant hasn’t ruled out playing matches in this year’s A-League season, as his recovery from an ACL injury continues.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Sydney FC defender suffered the second ACL injury of his career in July and it wasn’t until last Sunday that he was back training with his team – albeit in a contact-free environment.
Full contact training is still some time away for Grant but he believes the recovery is coming along smoothly.
“It’s all going really well. It’s at about the six month mark where I can start to get back into the full contact training,” he said.
“At the moment things are a little ahead of schedule but we’ve got to wait til around that nine month mark for the graft to fully heal.
“Training has obviously been very limited but I’ve been doing about 75 per cent of the session the rest of the team does. It feels good just to get back out there with them again.
“In a couple of weeks I might get the clearance to go back into full training with the team. Hopefully that shouldn’t be more than four to five weeks away.
“I might be able to slide some games in towards the end of the season but that’s a long way away.”
The most recent ACL injury was picked up by Grant during a routine passing drill at practice.
It was a difficult way to end a 2016-17 season in which the 26-year-old had earned his first Socceroos call up.
Grant scored for the Sky Blues in their grand final win over the Melbourne Victory in May, which led to a penalty shoot out win.
It capped off a remarkable season for both Grant and his team who lost just a single game throughout the season.
The club have continued to excel in the 2017-18 season, having led the way since round seven.
Grant said its frustrating to sit on the sidelines but not compared to his previous ACL injury.
“I feel like it’s gone a lot quicker compared to last time,” he said.
“Last time I also had a hiccup around the seven to eight month mark which kept me out. There’s been no problems at all so far.”