30 Day Angst Challenge

Twenty Eight: Fear

This one is set in February 2019

"How was your doctor's appointment today Tino?" I asked Trent as he joined me on the couch.

Trent had gotten himself injured during the game against Brighton at the AMEX. He'd hurt himself during the warmup but had insisted he was okay to play, and after playing the whole ninety minutes had ended up doing some damage to his knee. He got lucky really – he was only out for about a month and managed to avoid needing any surgery on it.

"Dunno really." Trent shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know? Was it good news or bad news?" I frowned.

"Well...they said I can start training in full next week." Trent told me.

"Trent! That's great news!" I cried.

"Is it?" Trent replied.

"Why wouldn't it be good news?" I asked.

"What if I'm not ready?" Trent questioned.

"The doctor wouldn't say you're ready if you're not." I pointed out.

"But...what if he's wrong? And I hurt myself again...badly." Now I saw what was happening; he was scared.

"Trent. You have to go back out there at some point." I said softly.

"I know." Trent groaned, running a hand over his face. "And I really do want to, but I just..."

"Hey, I get it. This is the first time you've been properly injured. I'd be scared about hurting it even more too." I empathised.

"I'm not scared." Trent said quickly. "I'm just...nervous."

"Whatever it is you're feeling, if you go back out and it doesn't feel right, then you tell someone straight away and you can do some more recovery." I said. Trent nodded slowly.

"And, what lesson did we learn from this injury?" I asked.

"No playing on when I'm hurt." Trent said in a low voice.

"There we go." I nodded. "Now, when you back out there next week, everyone will be looking out for you. They'll be pleased to see you back."

"Really?" Trent questioned.

"Of course they will!" I exclaimed. "Why wouldn't they be? You're they're teammate and they've missed you."

"I'm excited to train with them again." Trent told me.

"Good." I smiled. "They're excited to train with you too. It'll all be okay." I replied.

Trent nodded in agreement, though I'm not sure he entirely believed it.

~

Soon enough, the next week rolled around and it was time for Trent to return to training with the lads. I was going to watch today, to offer moral support. As Trent parked up, I noticed a look of nervousness on his face.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Fine." He muttered in response.

"You sure?" I questioned. Trent only nodded back at me.

"Should we head in then?" I suggested.

"We don't need to go in just yet." Trent said quickly.

"Your session starts in ten minutes." I pointed out.

"Maybe I should just call in sick." Trent shrugged.

I was about to argue when all of a sudden there was a knock on Trent's window. We both jumped, then turned to see Andy Robertson laughing. Trent wound down the window.