, ‘It’s not the best place to be in’ – Barnsley’s Jordan Williams opens up on injury torment

‘It’s not the best place to be in’ – Barnsley’s Jordan Williams opens up on injury torment

Making three substitute appearances in a row would not be anything exceptional for most senior players, but the past couple of weeks have been a great relief for Barnsley defender Jordan Williams.

The 21-year-old emerged as a regular at Oakwell last season, and this campaign looked set to be the best yet when he started the first nine matches and was rewarded for his performances but a new three-year deal.

But the former Huddersfield Town man has endured a torrid time of it since that high of early October.

“It’s been a tough couple of months for me,” Williams told The72. “I was doing well, I’d signed a new contract, but then I got injured, came back, got injured, came back, got injured again.

“I started with my hamstring, then I was having pain in the back of knee joined to my hamstring, and then I tore my quad which sent me back another few weeks.”

It’s certainly been a rollercoaster. His initial injury only sidelined him for a month and he made a return off the bench against Nottingham Forest, but more problems were right around the corner following that cameo with a similar problem that would have Barnsley scratching their heads in the coming weeks.

It was into the new year before the Reds would field Williams again, with another late substitute showing in the FA Cup against Tranmere Rovers. But again, it was a false dawn, and the quad issue delayed him by another fortnight.

All in all, Williams can be more than pleased to have got through three matches in the past couple of weeks, coming on to contribute towards the end of another tie with Forest, followed by an FA Cup defeat to Chelsea and their impressive victory at Brentford.

And, with all fingers crossed and wood touched, this run signals the end of a period if his fledgling career that he would very much like to move on from.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images Sport

“It’s not the best place to be in,” he said. “It’s not good mentally or physically, but I’ve come out of the other side of it now and I’m feeling good and ready to go.”

He admitted it can be “in the back of your mind” what issue will come up next after a succession of comebacks, with his boss Valerien Ismael particularly nervous about overstretching him after all those problems.

“It’s just one of those things. I came back from my hamstring injury, didn’t think anything about my quad and then next thing I’m tearing my quad. It’s like going round in circles, but I’m feeling strong at the minute and I’m ready to go.”

The start of his horror run could hardly have been timed any worse. Ismael was appointed as head coach within a week of Williams’ first injury, and Barnsley started their ascent up the Championship table under the Frenchman.

Williams has had to sit and watch as the Reds moved away from a relegation battle and into the top half, with the Brentford victory on Sunday moving them within a point of seventh place.

It might have been a cause for frustration and bitterness for some players, but he has found the positives in being able to return to a team with real confidence and form.

“It’s a better place for me to come back into,” he said. “I’d rather the team be doing well and picking up points than be at the bottom having a scrap. It’s a positive environment to come back to.”

It has inevitably come with consequences for his place in the team though and Williams, nominally a full-back who can play across the defence, will have to find a way past Callum Brittain, who has excelled in the right wing-back role that Williams is most keen on since signing for Barnsley from Milton Keynes Dons.

“That’s where I’ve been coming on,” he said of the position. “(Ismael has) not said much position-wise but that’s where I see myself as well, playing up and down at wing-back, getting forward and defending. Hopefully I can try and add a few goals and assists as well.”

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