Perth Glory stalwart Jamie Harnwell is not only confident of getting back from a knee injury later this season, but also of playing on for another campaign to continue his Hyundai A-League career.
The 32-year-old tore his medial collateral ligament in his left knee in the Glory’s 4-2 win over the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday without even realising.
He played on after doing in the damage in a tackle and it felt fine after he got it taped after half-time. He came off 15 minutes into the second half, but didn’t suspect any damage until the doctor gave him the bad news.
“There was very little pain whatsoever and all I could really feel was that my knee was a little bit wobbly. I played the half out, got it strapped at half-time and it didn’t feel too bad after that to be honest,” Harnwell said.
“I was quite lucky, though, because it could have been a lot worse than what I’ve done, it could have been a knee reconstruction if I got a whack in the same area. Only when I saw the doctor the next day did I think I had done something, up until then I was pretty confident.”
“I have never had an injury without pain before, but when he said it could be a grade two or three tear that’s when it opened my eyes up to what I might have done.”
While obviously disappointed with the injury after only being back for two games since a hamstring tear, Harnwell has no question he wants to return within two months.
“I can think of a few other words than disappointing, but that will do. It’s pretty frustrating and it’s another couple of months on the sidelines, and it’s not what I was hoping for obviously. I will just mope about for a couple of days now, then pick myself up and get into rehab to get back as soon as I can,” Harnwell said.
“If this had happened in the last couple of years I would be struggling to make it back in by the end of the season, but this is a longer season and we are confident of making finals as well. There’s a few games there and one in particular that I hope to playing in at the end of the season.”
The other motivation for Harnwell to get back is to impress coach Dave Mitchell enough to be offered another contract for next season.
“The only motivation I really need is that this is the last year of my contract and I want to keep playing. Mitch has shown a lot of faith in me the last couple of seasons, surprised some people by starting me on Sunday and for 60 minutes I repaid his faith,” he said.
“I want to get back and repay it even more. If the injuries had been a continuation of things I might think about it, but I’ve gone from a hamstring to a calf to getting a knee done in a tackle. They are three freakish injuries that I’ve never had before or are likely to again.”
