Kane Vincent-Young has stressed the importance of adopting a positive outlook during his fight to regain full fitness from an injury he never believed would keep him out of action for so long.
The athletic full-back was crocked in October 2019 and only returned to action last month, with the intervening months representing a huge mental, and not just physical, challenge to the 25-year-old Londoner.
Vincent-Young said: "One thing I never did was feel sorry for myself. You just have to look at the state of the world right now and you don’t have to look far to see how many people are struggling. There are problems that are way bigger than mine.
"While I’ve had my issues, when I look at the bigger picture I can only be grateful. I’m lucky enough to still be here and know that my problems are coming to an end. I’m back on the pitch again but there are other people who are going to take much longer to recover.”
The player expressed his gratitude to those who supported him most, adding: "I’m very blessed in that aspect. The club — and by that I mean the staff, the players, the fans and the media guys — have been enormously supportive, along with my family at home.
"Injuries that keep you out for so long are very difficult to deal with and if you don’t have the right support you can go the wrong way. I’m lucky to have had so many good people around me and to carry me through.
"The fans have been wonderful. I’m on social media but I don’t go on there a lot. I’ve seen all the messages, though, and of course I’m massively appreciative. I would like to say a massive thank-you to them and hopefully I can get to the end of the season and put a smile on a few faces.”
Given his start to life as an Ipswich player following his move up the A12 from Colchester in August 2019, when he immediately won the supporters over with a series of dazzling displays, Vincent-Young knows those same fans will be anticipating more of the same when he makes his long-awaited Portman Road return tomorrow against Wimbledon.
He smiled: "I’ll take it as a positive if people are expecting big things of me and I will try to rise to the challenge.
"I’d rather that situation than if they were thinking negatively of me. For me it’s just about going out there and enjoying it because I tend to play well when I’m enjoying what I am doing. I’ll be looking to show why they expect so much of me.
"My mindset all along has been to not try to ease myself into it. The only way to do it, and especially for the new manager, is to show I am still the player I have always been.
"He wants his full-backs to be expansive, which suits me, and I’ve never been somebody that tries to rein himself in.
"It can be a problem sometimes — almost all or nothing — but I’m of the opinion that if you’re out there you have to give it your all, no half measures.”
Vincent-Young admitted it was music to his ears to hear new Town boss Paul Cook talking about what he expects of his full-backs and added: "If you look at the full-backs he has worked with in the past, I know two who are now playing in the Premier League, so for me it’s about trying to soak up as much information as possible, learning from what he is saying and trying to deliver exactly what he wants and expects of me.
"The end of the season is just around the corner but I can’t wait for a full pre-season training programme when we report back. It has been so long since I’ve done it.
"The time really has flown by but I think it will be a case of looking after myself in the off season, making sure my body is right and then coming in to enjoy a full pre-season.
"From past experience a full pre-season invariably leads to a good season and that’s what I am hoping for.”
Asked about the changes Cook has made clear he intends to make at the end of the season, which will see a lot of the out-of-contract players moving on, Vincent-Young added: "It’s something that is inevitable but I’m not looking too far into the future.
"After everything that has happened to me it’s just a case of taking it day by day and enjoying it game by game.
"In the past I have tried to look forward too much and in the end almost tripped up, so it will be a case of taking it slowly to see what happens. We’ve still got four games of this season to play so the immediate focus is on them.
"We’re still in a transitional phase and after the change of manager we have a new voice and new ideas to take on board. We are trying to deliver on the pitch so we have to win games, in fact every game, and put in a good performance each time.”