Hibs playmaker on 'relief' of broken ankle diagnosis

A broken ankle and extensive ligament damage? Never great news for a footballer. But it says everything about the pain and anxiety experienced by Josh Campbell, as he was moved from Easter Road pitch to dressing room and then hospital, that even such a brutal diagnosis came as a relief.

The Hibs midfielder, who had been an eye-witness to Chris Cadden suffering an Achilles’ tendon rupture that kept the fullback out of action for nine months, definitely feared the worst as he hit the turf in the December 27 home loss to Hibs. An accidental collision with team-mate Dylan Levitt definitely left him in a state of distress.

“I knew right away that something wasn’t right,” said Campbell. “Having seen what happened to Cadds last year, I thought it was my Achilles, because I couldn’t do the test bending my foot. When I couldn’t do that, I thought: ‘Oh, na, na, na …’

“Fortunately I found it was just a fractured ankle and ligament damage, both on my ankle and my knee. It was kind of a pop-pop-pop as everything gave way!

“It was a strange feeling, but I was delighted to hear that news. When it happened, we couldn’t go to hospital right away because it was too late for the fans getting out so I stayed to watch the game and went to hospital and found out it was a fracture. Then I got a scan the next day and found out there was ligament damage.

“I’ve never been injured before. It was a shock to the system, and everything was going through my head, thinking the worst. Like I say, with Cadds with that injury, it was the worst going through my head - but luckily it was not as bad as first thought.

“There were numbers flying about. The season was done, 18 weeks, 12 weeks, it was all over the place because my ankle was so swollen. I think I was back training within eight, nine weeks.

“I just wanted out there as soon as possible because I’m not a guy that likes the gym. You are in there on those bikes, punching the boxing bag too, it’s not for me. You can take your frustration out on the boxing bag, but see when it swings back and hits you? It’s not good!”

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Campbell, an academy product who came off the bench to make his 100th first-team appearance in the away draw with Motherwell that saw Hibs consigned to the bottom six of the Scottish Premiership, is obviously hoping to get more game time over the closing five games of the season. And he has ambitions for next year, as he looks to develop into a proper No.10 behind either a loan centre forward or a strike partnership, depending on formation.

In that second goal, he’s learning plenty from on-loan Bournemouth playmaker Emi Marcondes, the 23-year-old revealing: “He’s always last to come in off the training pitch, but I’m one of the ones who will stay out as well to work on things. I’ve just been in his ear. He’s played at the highest level, is a great lad and he’s more than happy to help me with advice.

“I’ve taking bits from him, his overall vision of the game, awareness, movement. His stats are similar to mine in games, in terms of running.

“I wanted to see the runs he makes, his touches and finishing. He’s had coaches that have taught him to shoot with different parts of his foot. I’ve just been asking him all these little wee bits.”

Marcondes was one of seven January signings, meaning Campbell returned to a much-changed squad. It didn’t take him long to get up to speed with the group, the attacking midfielder explaining: “I am a guy that floats about speaking to everyone. They seem like good guys and good footballers, as well.

“There are mixed emotions at the moment, obviously. I’m delighted to be back playing, but obviously it’s tough what has gone in the past few weeks. We just need to stick together, get as many points as we can and finish as high up the table as we can.”

Aware that manager Nick Montgomery is under pressure, Campbell delivered the standard answer when asked for his input on the boss, saying:  “When he came in, he’s been good with everyone, especially me. He’s helped me to play a new role which I hadn’t done before; I was playing as a striker and seeing the game differently to everyone else.

“As I was injured it’s been tough for everyone, not just the gaffer. Everyone is hurting. It’s the same feeling, but you need to stick by each other.

“Every manager is different. We’ve been playing out from the back since his first game when we hadn’t much training. He’s wanting more possession-based football, which a lot of the players really enjoy.”