MPNFL 2019: Sorrento captain James Hallahan makes miraculous return from knee injury

A suburban footballer who ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in Round 9 has made a stunning return after just 62 days. Now, his dream of playing in a premiership is in reach.

Sorrento captain James Hallahan celebrates a goal during last season’s MPNFL Divison 1 grand final. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Sorrento footballer James Hallahan has made a miraculous comeback from a ruptured ACL in less than nine weeks.

He was among the Sharks’ best players in their win over Pines on Saturday — 62 days after suffering a “full blown’’ ACL rupture in a game on June 16.

So, how did he do it? Well, it took some slick work on Google, a steely focus and daily hard slog.

“It’s good to have the story out there and give people hope because for nine weeks you are in a pretty dark place,” Hallahan said.

James Hallahan boots the Sorras forward. Picture: Jay Town

When Hallahan did his knee back in June, he immediately feared the worse — and scans confirmed he’d suffered a ACL rupture in his right knee.

James Hallahan and Luke Tapscott celebrate Sorrento’s 2017 Nepean league premiership.

But before rushing off to see a surgeon, he began tapping the keyboard and googling, ‘quickest recoveries from an ACL’.

“And I just stumbled across this case study that was buried in Google, about an English Premier League player maybe five years ago — they don’t name him — who essentially had the same injury as me but got back in eight weeks. I thought that’s ridiculous,” he said.

Hallahan got in contact with the EPL player’s physiotherapist, and asked him a series of questions and if he, too, could make a similar speedy return, without having surgery.

The answers were enough to convince him to have a crack at it.

And so the hard work began.

“It was almost a day to day thing, I was doing 10 sessions a week, two sessions a day, most days,’’ Hallahan said.

Hallahan started cautiously, lifting light weights.

“Once I got through to the end of the day I’d tick it off and say, ‘yep, got through that’,” he said.

Gradually, he increased the workload and soon began jumping from side to side.

“On day 19 I ran for the first time and that was just straight-line running and it was the weirdest feeling I have ever felt,’’ he said.

“I was so apprehensive that my knee would give way.”

Hallahan set himself to come back before the finals and remarkably put himself through hell at training.

“For the past three weeks I’ve essentially been trying to hurt it (the knee) at training … I was tying to hurt it, to see if I could make it fail, because when you get to a game you don’t get that choice,’’ he said.

A dejected Mitch Hallahan after Sorrento’s one-point loss to Pines in last season’s grand final. Picture: Andy Brownbill

So, 62 days after rupturing his knee, Hallahan ran out with Sorrento last Saturday and played like he hadn’t missed a game, showing dash on a wing.

“In the first half I was flying and then I came out after halftime, obviously I hadn’t played for eight weeks, and I was absolutely gassed,’’ he said.

“It’s about getting that match fitness back.”

Sorrento won the minor premiership and, after losing last season’s grand final by a point in heartbreaking fashion, will go into the finals as a good chance to win the flag.

Hallahan, after thinking his flag hopes were gone, now has the chance to be part of something special.

“That’s right, that’s what the motivation was,’’ he said.

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“I missed the premiership with Mitch my brother last year and I said, ‘okay, how often do you get a chance to be in that position that the end of the season to win a flag?’

“I know Sorrento have been very lucky but it’s got to end at some point and. I want to get back and win one with him.”