The All Whites' opening friendly match against India on Thursday represents a hard-fought milestone for midfielder Matthew Garbett.
Watch the All Whites take on India in Auckland and Christchurch on TVNZ+
Garbett’s last appearance in All Whites camp was in the US, where his dream of playing for New Zealand at a World Cup was cruelly crushed by a training ground injury on the eve of the team’s opening match against Egypt.
Four months later, galvanised by the experience, the London-born 24-year-old is simply happy be back among his mates wearing a silver fern on his chest.
“It was a tough time,” Garbett said after Tuesday’s practice session.
“I think I learned a lot about myself as a person, as a player, a lot of things off the pitch that I didn't know about myself.
“Obviously, when it was fresh, it was quite tough and emotional. Replaying what ifs in my head – what if I did this, what if I did that – just all sorts of things.”
Despite his desire to remain in camp with the team for the duration of the tournament, Garbett was forced to make his way to London for surgery.
He had to settle for cheering in the team’s group chat, which proved equally effective as his own support tool.
“I’m quite fortunate to have a good circle around me with my parents, even with the team, the management, the players, people reaching out, definitely helped me through it,” Garbett added.
“I still felt like I was a little bit a part of it, but obviously it's quite tough when you're meant to be starting that first World Cup game and you're watching in the stands and then you're hearing the anthems.”
Early last month, the midfielder made his long-awaited comeback for Peterborough United in a 4-1 win EFL Trophy win over Ipswich Town. Twelve days later, Garbett was back on the scoresheet, netting an injury time equaliser against Burton.
“I'd seen a couple players with similar injuries come back and get injuries in other places with overcompensation, so I was quite careful with my minutes and building myself up.
“I'm at that stage now where I can play 90 minutes back-to-back on Saturday and Tuesday. I'm still getting that run of games, but I'm in a good place.”
Garbett’s had the month since to rebuild his match conditioning and re-sharpen his on-field skills before slotting back into the squad for Darren Bazeley’s final act as New Zealand coach.
NZ Football chose not to renew Bazeley's contract, which expires at the end of this year, after the All Whites' performance at the World Cup.
Now, after 156 days in the international wilderness, Garbett says he’s desperate to re-establish himself as an All Whites regular in their upcoming fixtures against India and send his coach off in winning fashion.
“I'm extremely motivated, you know, to do well in these next two games – score goals, you know, entertain the fans and just leave on a positive note for the end of the year.”
The first game against India takes place at Go Media Stadium on Thursday, before the teams head to Christchurch’s One NZ Stadium on Sunday.
Tune in for both matches live and free on TVNZ+
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