The timing couldn’t have been any worse.
Sam Denham’s injury came minutes into a gilt-edged play-off second leg.
A gilt-edged play-off second leg East Fife went on to narrowly lose to Jim Duffy’s Clyde, meaning it was also the final game of the 2022/23 season for the Fifers.
Given they are a part-time outfit, contracts, with a few exceptions, are typically renewed in the close season.
For Denham, who quickly learned he’d damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), with a recovery duration of nine to 12 months, that meant no offer would be forthcoming.
‘I felt a pop… you fear the worst’
“As soon as I did it, I felt a pop,” he tells Courier Sport. “When you feel a pop – at the time there was a lot of pain – you do fear the worst.
“It was weird because when I went and sat on the bench after it, I felt not too bad.
“Even in the dressing room at half-time, I didn’t feel too bad. You’re thinking: maybe it isn’t that bad.
“Even after the game, the physio was trying to get me to take crutches home with me.
“I drove home that night and then when I woke up on Saturday morning after that, my knee was like a balloon. After that, you start fearing the worst.”
‘It’s like lockdown!’
He says he has been largely housebound since – unable to work (Denham took up one-to-one sports coaching after making the switch to part-time football) and bored while watching TV and playing Football Manager.
It sounds a lot like Denham is painting a picture of the dark days of Covid lockdowns.
“That’s exactly what it feels like! I was saying that to my mum and dad – it feels like I’m in lockdown,” he said.
“Things like not being able to drive, things you took for granted.
“Being unable to do simple things like, drive to the gym or go down to the shop and do whatever. It’s been tough.”
Denham, who came through the ranks at St Johnstone before leaving in the summer of 2022, successfully underwent surgery three weeks ago and is now aiming to be available again in nine months – which means he’ll be lucky to play this season.
Scottish football rallies
In the meantime, he is planning on starting an electrician apprenticeship and a couple of clubs have reached out to offer rehab facilities when the time comes.
While there isn’t a whole lot of support out there for part-time players in Denham’s situation, there have been other examples of Scottish football rallying to help.
PFA Scotland have set Denham up with sessions through the Hampden Sports Clinic and there was a fundraiser set up to help with the cost of the operation.
East Fife, along with the Glory Days of Gold fan podcast, launched a crowdfunder which ended up covering £3,674 – above the £3,000 target – of the cost of his operation.
‘Amazing’ crowdfunder
“Financially, there’s not really any other help out there,” adds Denham. “The operation came to over £8,000.
“To raise just about half of that is amazing, I’m grateful to everyone who contributed towards that. I didn’t expect to raise as much.
“The injury is still fresh at the moment. I’ll try and get off the crutches, first and foremost
“Then go to the Hampden Clinic and then after that I’ll decide which club to do rehab with.
“But I’m grateful to the clubs that have offered to do it, and East Fife was one of them.”
