Jack Stretton is a familiar face to County fans, first arriving at the club in March 2021 where he enjoyed a short-term loan spell, scoring three goals in five appearances before returning to his parent club Derby County.
After making 13 appearances back at his parent club and gaining more experience on loan in League Two at Carlisle United, we made the Scotsman a permanent fixture at Edgeley Park when we completed his transfer back in January 2023.
Upon his return during the second half of last season, Jack made 19 appearances for the club, scoring another three goals, including a crucial extra-time header in our play-off semi-final second leg against Salford City to send the contest to penalties, which we would go on to win to reach Wembley.
Following a positive end to the campaign, Stretton was looking forward to getting back to work ahead of the 2023/24 season, however his progress was haltered within the first week of pre-season after sustained an ACL injury in training that would rule him out of the 2023/24 season.
Around 8 months on from sustaining that injury blow, Media Assistant Matthew Boss had the opportunity to catch up with the 23-year-old to see how he’s getting on, and how the future is shaping up with his return getting ever closer.
On the recovery process:
“The recovery is going well, it’s been a while, I’m starting to see the end goal which is getting back out there with the lads. I’m probably a couple of months off team training which is something to aim for, hopefully from there I can get going in the right direction, be confident and feel as though I’m going to work my way back into the team.”
On his injury:
“It was a split second. It was the second day back in training, obviously I was feeling good, we were doing a transition attack phase of play sort of thing, I’ve pushed to get in front of the defender, and I just heard some sort of pop in my knee and obviously felt a lot of pain.”
“My initial thoughts were just hoping it’s not too bad. I’ve never done anything to my knee before, so I had nothing to compare it too, it was just a case of wishing for the best. I didn’t actually think it would be my ACL at first, it was one of the only things I didn’t think, and I thought surely not me, surely, I’ve not done that!”
“When I got the call that I’d done my ACL, it was quite tough to be honest, a lot to take in. It took a while to get my head around it but I’m going in a positive direction towards training and playing again.”
On the group reaction:
“I had conversations with everyone within the club, players and staff, everyone was just wishing me well, hoping for a speedy recovery and that if I needed anything they would be there for me which was good, and I needed it! It was very tough at the start, mentally was the hardest side of it really, but with the staff, family, and players around me it definitely helped.”
On getting away from football:
“Obviously, you can try to take your mind off it so much, but you have to stay focused in the gym and I need to make sure I’m right for when I do come back. Besides that, I’ve just been at home chilling with friends, family and my girlfriend; playing PlayStation that’s all I can do really. It does get a bit boring at times because I want to be out there playing, but all you can do is just focus on getting the recovery right and try to take your mind off things.”
On the darts:
“I’ve been into darts for quite a while playing now and again, I’ve started to play a lot recently. We went to one of the Premier League events in Manchester last season and I think we’ve arranged to go again this year which will be good. It’s good to take my mind off things and play some darts with the lads, competition’s quite good here too so it’s good.”
On supporting other players through injury:
“It’s obviously not ideal and you never want anyone to be injured, you’re just trying to get each other through it really. In the gym we’re all doing our fitness work together, so it’s just keeping everyone in good spirits and not feeling like you’re doing it on your own and being down about it; you can still have a laugh.”
On his relationship with Ryan Rydel:
“With Rydel, he’s got the same injury as me so we can sort of ask each other questions about can you feel this, have you had this, how does this feel etc. In a way it’s good that we can have these discussions and check on each other.”
On County’s league performance:
“It’s good! We’ve been flying at the top of the table which is great to see when you can’t be involved, but on the other hand it’s tough not being able to be involved. You are involved in the squad to some extent but gamedays are just a bit different and there’s a different approach, you’re sat in the stands, and you can’t do your bit to help the team, but it’s good to see that the lads are doing so well and hopefully they can keep that up! For me it’s important that I can keep watching and helping in any way that I can with the morale around the place.”
On returning to the grass:
“That first week it was the best feeling ever, but it wears off a bit and from that point you just want to do more and more, but the physios and staff have to slow you down and make sure you’re not doing too much to irritate it.”
“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now in getting back out there with the lads, so that’s what I’ve got to be aiming for and hopefully it stays plain sailing and I can get back out there very soon.”
On targeting a return date:
“Everyone has their own opinions on when’s the right time to return or when’s the safest time to return. I’d like to think that I can be back in training with the team maybe end of April, hopefully the start of April. I think if I’m being realistic, games this season don’t look likely, but if I get the opportunity and the staff and the physios think it’s safe then that would be a massive bonus for me. With that being said, the main goal for me is making sure that I do everything right now and making sure I’m ready for pre-season.”
On getting back to Edgeley Park:
“I don’t even know what the feeling will be like to be honest, it’s been so long! I think it’ll just be a massive relief really, getting back out there in front of the fans, you can hear the atmosphere from the stands but it’s not the same as when you’re on the pitch; it’s so loud and the motivation you feel from that whilst your playing is something that can’t be matched! For the fans, hopefully I can just start where I left off last season and kick on by putting good performances in for them and obviously the team as well, and see where it takes us…”
