Striker Liam Hearn is staying positive, despite learning the news that he will be out until Christmas with a knee injury.
The summer signing suffered a cartilage tear in his knee after an innocuous-looking tumble in last weekās Capital One Cup First Round tie at Sheffield United.Nevertheless, the forward is trying to stay positive as he now looks towards the future.
Hearn said: āRight now Iām in a lot better place than what I was when obviously I first found out about the injury. Iām seeing a positive path and although Christmas seems like a long time away to a lot of people, itās not that long away to me.
āIām a positive person. To get where I have in my career I think Iāve done really well, considering the obstacles that Iāve had to face. So for me, this is just another obstacle that Iāve got to face and Iāve got to get through it.
āI canāt sit there feeling sorry for myself and I canāt blame other people. I canāt blame anything ā itās happened, Iāve just got to deal with it and move on. And hopefully itāll make me a better person.ā
The ex-Grimsby Town man insists that he is in the best hands possible and is looking forward to his rehabilitation, believing the facilities which are available to him will speed up the process.
Hearn said: āIāve done some research on the surgeon that Iām having and heās a really good surgeon.
āHeās done some really important operations, so hopefully Iāll be in good hands and heāll get me back to where I want to be.ā
He continued: āWith the facilities Iāve got at St Georgeās Park to use, thereās no reason why I wonāt come back in great shape, if not better than before.
āI didnāt join up with Chrissy [Chris Bowman, physio] until four-and-a-half or five months after my operation last time and the majority of the rehabilitation I did, I did on my own.
āSo if I can get with him from the start, use St Georgeās Park and obviously just keep doing what Iām doing I canāt see [any] reason why I canāt be back just after Christmas.ā
Hearn revealed that everybody has been extremely supportive of him since he found out about the injury, especially his team-mates: āMuzza [Adam Murray] and a few of the boys said some nice words after the game, which obviously helped me.
āI had a good talk to the gaffer, I spoke to some people about what itād be like to have me back at Christmas, [they said] itād be like a new signing and all of that has helped me to be in the mood that I am in now and Iām looking forward to getting back.
āI half-expected a lot of people to say āI knew you were injuredā and I expected some negativity, so I braced myself for that, but I havenāt had a single negative message, even the Grimsby fans still message me and wished me all the best in the future.
āThe gaffer here has been top drawer to me to be fair. Heās shown so much faith in me, his man-management with me has been top notch.
āGrowing up, I didnāt really get much love, so I think when a manager or somebody does show you that love they get that extra bit out of you, and now me, I just want to get back and repay everyone.
āIām not saying I want to do it for them, because I want to do it for myself, but part of what I want to do is come back after Christmas, score some goals and relish that feeling again.ā
The 28-year-old believes that by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping the right people around him, he will return stronger than ever.
He said: āIām just aiming to get where I was the last time [I returned] and I think by having my smoothie diet and by doing other things I healed a lot quicker than other people thought I would.
āI donāt drink, I donāt smoke, obviously, but I think all those things stand me in good stead so Iām ready for the battle ahead.
ā[Thereās] loads of life left in me, thereās people out there who have had loads of operations. My mate āCooloā [Michael Coulson] has had three ACL repairs and heās still playing for York City, so I look at people like him and I think well if he can do it then I can do it. Heās not born with special powers; weāre all the same, so people just keep driving me.
āItāll be a tough battle, but Iām relishing it. Iām a fighter. Iāve always been like that. Ever since I was a kid, people have always tried to put me down, where I live, in school, but Iām a fighter,ā said the striker."
Although it could be easy to become down-hearted, Hearn is adamant that he will stay positive, and he admits that he takes inspiration from all walks of life.
āItās difficult because I could sit there cursing my luck and say how unlucky I've been, but then I think to myself how lucky am I?ā continued Hearn.
āIāve got a great family. Iāve got beautiful little girl. Iāve got a nice car to drive around in. Iāve got a regular income. Iāve got great friends. Iām getting to know people all the time. Iāve just got a lot of positive things and although Iāve had an injury and Iāve had a bit of a setback, I look at other people and some people havenāt got anything.
āOne of my mates put something on Instagram yesterday about what Nelson Mandela said about falling, and that every time you fall you have to rise stronger, and for me, I really, really appreciated what that message was trying to say. I could relate to it massively and Iām going to take that in to the rest of my career.ā
A full interview with Liam Hearn will be available on Stags Player later today. To subscribe, click here.