American Josh Gatt returned to the field for Molde FK on Sunday as a substitute in a scoreless draw against Haugesund in the Norwegian Tippeligaen. The 25-year-old played 23 minutes in his return from injury and spoke with the media following his outing.
“It was exciting,” Gatt told the Norwegian media. “Honestly, I thought going into this game I’d be extremely nervous. Really jumpy, kind of all over the place. But, after I stepped on the field, it kind of settled immediately. I didn’t really feel that nervousness that I thought I would. I just felt...almost peaceful.”
“I got a really good reception that made me feel really important. Which is nice to feel after three years of kind of watching from the sidelines. I just felt really good. I felt solid. Just like I said, I felt peaceful.”
“It’s all hard work. Even if you don’t come back from three years of injury it’s still hard work every day. We work hard to get where we’re at and I just had to put in a different type of hard work. But, my hard work has paid off. I got my opportunity and I did the best I could today. There’s still some I need to work on. Some little things that will come with more playing time. I think I have some stuff that I haven’t lost.”
It’s good to see him back on the field again. It’s always tough to see a talented player unable to do the thing they love to do. Hopefully this is the final comeback he has to make and can finally stay healthy for a long spell.