Midfielder made his first start in almost a year in last week’s opening day victory over Portadown
Josh Kelly says he always had belief he would be back in a Glentoran shirt again after a gruelling 12 months recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
The 26-year-old suffered the devastating blow last August which saw him require surgery and an intensive rehabilitation programme.
Kelly admitted there were some tough times as he battled his way back to full fitness again, but he kept believing and was rewarded as Declan Devine named him in the starting XI for last week’s opening day victory at Portadown.
He said: “It’s been a long and incredibly tough 12 months. When you’ve been out for that length of time, you go through every emotion.
“There were days in the gym when I wondered if I’d ever pull on the Glentoran shirt again and that’s a hard thing to process when all you want to do is play football and be out on the pitch helping your teammates.
“The only way forward was to keep working, keep pushing and keep believing. I set myself small goals every week during rehab, and ticking those off kept me going.
“The medical and fitness staff here have been outstanding and my family and teammates gave me the motivation to keep pushing even on the hardest days.
“Starting last Saturday was a huge personal milestone and a real reward for all those months of hard work. To then play my part in helping the team get the win made it even more special.
“Portadown are a strong, resolute side who will take points off plenty of teams this season, especially at Shamrock Park, so for us to go there and come away with three points was the perfect way to start our season.”
Now Kelly is preparing for the first home game of the season as Glentoran welcome newly-promoted Bangor to the BetMcLean Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Seasiders have already made an early statement with an impressive 3–1 win over Cliftonville in their opening fixture of the season.
Kelly says the players have been looking forward to the Oval opener all summer, with the prospect of running out in front of a big home crowd adding extra motivation.
“Bangor have come up and shown straight away that they’re here to compete,” he said. “Their win over Cliftonville last week was a big result and they’ll also take confidence from beating us in the Irish Cup last season.
“Lee Feeney will have them fired up, and we know they’ll come here with no fear. They’ll be organised and they’ll look to make it another big occasion for their travelling supporters.
“We’ve been looking forward to this first home game all summer, and there’s nothing better than playing here with the home crowd behind us.
“The supporters were incredible all last season, home and away, and we want to give them a team and performances they can be proud of. We know they’ll turn out in their numbers again on Saturday and we are determined to reward that backing with a strong performance and another three points.”
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