Melbournevictory.com.au caught up with Matthew Kemp, who is in the final stages of his rehabilitation from a knee reconstruction, to ask him about the past seven months, his hopes for the future and his thoughts on Melbourne’s performance so far this season.
Melbournevictory.com.au caught up with Matthew Kemp, who is in the final stages of his rehabilitation from a knee reconstruction, to ask him about the past seven months, his hopes for the future and his thoughts on Melbourne’s performance so far this season.
Q: Matt, now that the season is well underway, how are you finding watching the games? They say it is one of the hardest things to get used to when you are injured.
MK: I’m really bad at watching. I don-t particularly enjoy going to the game and watching. I find it quite hard and quite frustrating. I guess I should be used to it now, it-s been about seven months since my injury. I’m getting closer, It-s probably making it even harder now that I’m getting even closer to getting back. It really makes me want to get out there even more, seeing the boys out there doing well. But my time will come.
Q: The rehabilitation has not been without its hitches. Explain to us the setback you suffered with your hamstring?
MK: Your hamstrings get really weak. They take part of your hamstrings to fix your knee. It-s a weakness that I would imagine that most guys who have a knee reconstruction have. It was a minor setback, a bit of a strain, but it-s coming good now. I’m back on track to get back out there soon.
Q: So have you set a particular timeframe for your return?
MK: I keep saying about eight weeks, but I’m not going to set a date, because things change. You might have setbacks. I don-t want to come back too early before I’m ready just to be back. I want to make sure I’m right and when I come back I’m 100 per cent.”
Q: Billy Celeski is back in the team 12 months after his own knee reconstruction. How have you assessed Billy’s form on his return?
MK: I think he’s looking good. He’s put in a lot of hard work. I think now it-s starting to show. Now that he’s back in the team, I think he’ll cement his spot back in there. He needs a few games under his belt and it’s all going to come back. All that hard work that he put in while he was injured is gonna show. It-s good to see him back, and it gives us confidence that he’s been through what we have and he’s come out the other side. It-s been good to have his experience and his advice along the way.
Q: What’s motivated you during the rehabilitation period? Is it the thought that you still have a lot to prove as a footballer?
MK: You always want to keep improving, I don-t think it matters how old you are. When you stop improving, then it-s probably time to give it away. I still think, just before I got injured, I was probably playing the best football of my career and that was at 29. There’s no reason I can-t come back and improve and continue to get better, move my career along.
Q: How have you assessed how the club has covered for you in your absence and the performance of players, such as Surat Sukha, since you’ve been out?
MK: We’ve got great depth at the club. We’ve got loads of players. It-s a very hard club to get a run in. We’ve got so many good players. Surat Sukha this season, he’s been good every season, but this season he has been fantastic. He’s probably been one of the best players we-ve had all year. He’s stepped up. I’m going to have to fight for my spot when I get back fit again, There’s boys out there doing a job at the moment.
Q: Do you think that Surat is reaping the benefits of having already spent a year in the Melbourne Victory system?
MK: It takes time to fit into a new team and to get to know how they play. It took me a year to get to know what Ernie wanted from me. Once it happens, you can start seeing improvements. Surat is seeing now all that hard work that he did last year is starting to show on the park.
Q: The recent ankle injury to Kevin Muscat. How do you see the club covering for his absence for what is likely to be around a month?
MK: I think it’s a great opportunity. You never want what has happened to Musky what has happened to him. These things do happen. It’s just an opportunity for someone else to come in and do a job and we got a lot of young players who can come in and have a chance to prove themselves.
