Kyle Taylor of Exeter City on overcoming 16 months of injury hell
“It’s fantastic to be a part of the first three games of the season.” I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing sixteen months ago, so I’m grateful to be back and grateful to everyone who helped me along the way.”
Injury is always the worst part of a sportsman’s career, so knowing you’ll be out for 16 months is a mental as well as a physical challenge to overcome. Back in March 2022, Exeter City midfielder Kyle Taylor collapsed to the ground in agony, just minutes after giving Exeter the lead in a 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic.
Taylor had clearly been seriously injured, and it had happened at the worst possible time. It was his first goal for the Grecians, who were in the midst of a successful promotion battle from League Two.
“I’d had a bit of a nightmare weekend actually because my alarm didn’t go off on the Friday, so I actually missed the coach on the Friday morning and then I had to catch up with it!” Taylor remembers that fateful weekend.
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“I started the game well, scored, and then obviously hurt my knee in that game.” It was a bittersweet moment because it was a big game near the end of the season when we needed points, so I was obviously happy to get the three points… but I also had a sneaking suspicion that I’d done something serious.
“I have good and bad memories, but we obviously got promoted that season, which was fantastic.” Obviously, I’ve been out for a long time, and I’m just glad to be back.”
No one realized the gravity of Taylor’s actions until the results of his scans revealed everything. The now 24-year-old had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, cartilage damage on both sides, a damaged medial ligament, and bone damage. Even City’s then-manager Matt Taylor called it the “worst injury a footballer can sustain.”
After sixteen months, several setbacks, and countless hours in the gym, Kyle Taylor is back and doing everything he can to make up for lost time.
“It was really difficult,” he admitted. “I had a few friends from Bournemouth and other clubs who had gone through a similar thing and had done their ACL as well, so I had a lot of people to lean on and speak to at the time, and everyone was great here throughout my rehab, so I was really grateful that I had a lot of people and a lot of support.”
“The best thing for me was to try to switch off from it for a little while, knowing how long I’d be out.” And then, as you build back and begin to see a return, you can gradually ease back into it and become more involved with things.
“I tried to detach myself a little bit because I think I would have struggled a lot more if I was around the boys – and watching them train and play games every week.” When you’re watching it or looking out the gym window, you just want to be out there, and knowing you can’t for an extended period of time can be difficult.
“But all you have to do is refocus, get used to doing the same thing every day, and set new goals.” They may not be on the pitch or on a Saturday, but you know you’ll be back out there in a few months, so put yourself in the best position possible.
