Burleigh Heads coach Colin Phelan says retirement is an option for Matt Hilton after horror injury
BURLEIGH Heads coach Colin Phelan says he would be surprised if Matt Hilton called time on his illustrious career but admits his horror grand final injury means weighing up retirement is “a discussion he has to have”.
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BURLEIGH Heads coach Colin Phelan says he would be surprised if Matt Hilton called time on his illustrious career but admits his horror grand final injury means weighing up retirement is “a discussion he has to have”.
Phelan visited the former Australian Joeys striker in hospital on Sunday, less than 24 hours after shattering his jaw and losing four teeth in a sickening collision with Surfers Paradise goalkeeper Tim Warren.
The 33-year-old, who scored the opening goal in Burleigh’s 3-0 victory in the Gold Coast Premier League decider, underwent surgery today to have two plates inserted into his jaw and is facing six weeks without solid food.
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With Hilton and wife Chloe running their own wedding and event hire company, The One Day House, this year’s joint-Golden Boot winner is also facing a long layoff from work.
While he hoped the incident would not spell the end of Hilton’s long and successful career on the Coast, Phelan said he had to put his family first.
“Knowing Matty the way I do, he loves playing football and scoring goals. (But) Matty might go ‘I don’t really want to go through this anymore’,” Phelan said of Hilton, who finished the season with 33 goals.
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“He’s got nothing left to prove, he’s the best goalscorer on the Coast. I know Matty and he’s prepared to go through pain to play games of football but when it affects your family, it is a discussion he has to have.
“He works for himself, he’s got two kids, he’s got a mortgage. He’s got a way to go, it’ll be a while (before he recovers).
“It’s just a shame because he’s done so much for us over the last two seasons. He’s more than just a goalscorer, he lifts the tempo at training.
“He takes time for the kids … and they love him. Hopefully for football’s sake he doesn’t pack it in because he’s still got a lot offer.”
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With his side leading 1-0 early in the second half, Hilton’s night came to an end when he fell headfirst into the knee of Warren, with the game stopped for half an hour before he was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Phelan said the incident was “like a car crash”.
“He’s been hit in the chin and it’s broken both sides of his jaw and knocked four of his teeth out. As much as we all wanted to win, it become a little bit immaterial at the time when you see him lying on the stretcher,” he said.
“I feel for the lad, he’s our captain and our leader. We wouldn’t have been where we were without him.
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“He’s been quite inspirational for some of the younger lads. As soon as he stayed down I knew it was an issue, he’s really brave.
“It was a little bit scary and upsetting. You don’t want to see anyone in that situation.”
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