Brisbane Roar Youth striker Josh Groenewald has returned to NYL action after months out with a hernia injury.
A cameo second half appearance during the Roar Youth’s 3-1 victory against Adelaide in round 15 signalled the end of what Groenewald called “one of the most frustrating periods” in his career and has been the catalyst behind the striker-s push to make his mark on what is already a successful Brisbane Youth side.
His second-half goal against Central Coast Mariners yesterday was his first of the campaign and gave Groenewald a taste of what he hopes is a sign of things to come.
“It was a very frustrating time for me, it was an injury that took a while to diagnose and that was one of the factors behind the long recovery,” said Groenewald.
“I thought I just had an abdominal strain; however when it refused to get any better I had to get it checked out again and it was revealed I actually had a hernia injury.”
“I-m finally back training and playing now so everything is starting to come good.”
Formally a star player at the Victorian Institute of Sport and in the Victorian Premier League, Groenewald says that he is happy he made the move north to join the Roar.
“I was playing quite a bit of football for Green Gully in the Victorian Premier League and ever since I got the call to join the Roar I have thoroughly enjoyed my time up here,” he said.
“There are a lot of great young players here at the club which is a great thing to have as it pushes all the players in the side to get the most out of their performances.”
While resigned to the fact he will have to fight for a spot in Head Coach John Sime-s starting eleven, Groenewald says that he is looking forward to taking advantage of any opportunity he gets over the final rounds of the National Youth League competition.
“I’m really looking forward to the game this weekend, the coach hasn’t really spoken to me about what sort of role I will be playing however I plan on doing as much as I can with whatever time I get,” Groenewald said.
“There are still a good number of matches to go in the season so as long as I get the chance to go out there and score goals I’ll be happy.”
