Adaptable midfielder Jay Barnett has overcome huge adversity to claw his way back onto the pitch for Adelaide United following a gruelling hamstring injury recovery that saw him sidelined for almost 500 days.
After leaving home at the tender age of 16 to follow his footballing dreams and finding quick success with Brisbane Roar’s Y-League side, Barnett’s career trajectory took a hit, being met by limited minutes at his next destination, Melbourne Victory, further marred with a health battle brought on by pericarditis.
When a fresh start with hometown club, Adelaide United called, Barnett found himself hitting the pitch for a total of 234 minutes across five games before being named in the starting line-up for the blockbuster Elimination Final against Wellington Phoenix at the back end of the 2022/2023 season. Barnett’s performance in this breakout game garnered Australia-wide attention, securing himself a feature from the A-League digital team and media pursuing the story of his sudden meteoric rise.
The high was short-lived, with devastation hitting only two days out from the First-Leg Semi-Final against Central Coast Mariners, as a hamstring rupture in training ended Jay’s season early.
“Pretty much the last two minutes of the session I just went to pass the ball. I’ve never done a proper soft tissue injury, but in that moment I knew. It just twanged. It gave away and I collapsed.”
Barnett showed maturity beyond his years in dealing with the initial injury coming at arguably the peak of his senior footballing career.
“Those moments where things are going well, those sorts of highs don’t tend to last long.
“I have learnt that it’s obviously great getting recognition, especially since I wasn’t playing consistently before that and to get it done in front of my hometown crowd in a big final as well, it was great. But I knew that was just one game.”
Although it was season over, Jay held a positive outlook toward his recovery knowing he had time on his side with the off-season approaching. However, his world was once again turned on its head when his hamstring once again tore.
“Three months down the track during pre-season I had finally progressed through all my rehab and was back on the pitch. It was my second session back with the team, and it just went again.”
A scan of the injury quickly revealed a newer, much larger rupture, where surgery was quickly assessed to be the best intervention.
Jay again faced the cumbersome task of starting from scratch, further burdened by stigma surrounding the length of his absence.
“I struggled with that at different stages. I would get a lot of questions about the recovery duration from family and friends. They’d say, “isn’t it meant to be three to four weeks?” and I’d have to tell them it’s a bit more serious than that.
“Even for me, this is the first really serious injury I’ve done, so when you’re not sure on the timeline and how you should be feeling or whether you’re progressing, it is hard. It’s just not as common as something like an ACL injury. I certainly haven’t come across many players who have experienced the same thing, so it’s hard to talk to people and get ideas from them or talk about their process.”
Beyond the physical healing interventions, the mental side of rehabilitation was at the forefront for Jay to ensure a holistic recovery process. Being able to rehabilitate in his hometown with support from his family was paramount to returning to the pitch.
“It was nice having family around to distract me and take my mind away from everything. At least I could go home and just be me and not “Jay the Footballer”. I had a lot of time to think during my rehabilitation, so when I went home it was great to not be alone so that I wasn’t inside my own head. I surrounded myself with family and friends and tried to involve myself with stuff outside of playing sport.”
After 16 months, a sense of finality over this period of his career dawned when Jay was named in the extended squad for United’s Australia Cup Round of 16 Clash against Western Australian side, Olympic Kingsway.
“It was a good feeling. I travelled to Perth with the squad, and I obviously didn’t play, but it was just good to have a bit of a normal build up to a game.”
A sense of career rebirth came with being named in the starting line-up for United’s crucial clash against Western Sydney Wanderers in the proceeding Cup Quarter-Final.
“I found out I was in the squad a few days before, so I could prepare for the game and not worry about anything else. Obviously, there were some nerves going into the game, but once the warm-up started, I just got back into that routine and it felt normal again, which was surprising.
“I was expecting to feel overwhelmed because it had been so long. Once you’re in the game, you just feel like there’s no external factors. All of a sudden, you’re not thinking about your hamstring, and you can just play.”
Despite the injury tribulations Barnett has experienced in the previous 16 months, he has full faith in his body’s recovery and ability moving forward.
“I felt physically good coming into that game and during the game. I felt good in general and more than strong enough. I didn’t have to second guess myself.
“Mentally it was about trying to get my head in the right space to make sure when the game starts that I remember I’ve done a lot of work both pre-game and in my rehab, I have the confidence that my body will hold up.
“I am at that stage where I have been training consistently and it’s just about getting that rhythm. I’ve pulled up well from the 70 minutes to start with. Hopefully, I can keep building through the games we have left in the Australia Cup and then into the season. I’m sure once I get that rhythm, I’ll be unstoppable, and those doubts will be gone.”
