STILL TOTTING UP THE GOALS
Injury victim Bennett is back in business at 36 and is...
JUSTIN BENNETT is enjoying every minute at AFC Totton after fearing an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury might have ended his career.
The 36-year-old has a reputation for goals, having found the net 263 times in nine years at Gosport Borough and 42 times in a two-season spell with Salisbury.
Last summer he moved to Oxford City but in pre-season suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury.
The striker wasn’t ready to hang up his shooting boots, however, and he battled back before signing for the Southern League Division One West Stags ahead of this campaign.
“At my age I wasn’t sure or not if I’d be able to get back so it’s nice to have done that and the knee is holding up,” Bennett told The NLP.
“I did it in the last pre-season friendly with Oxford City. The physio at the time diagnosed it as a tweak of the knee and nothing major so I was rehabbing to get back. I didn’t ever feel OK but I even came off the bench for one game. I knew something wasn’t right, so I went on that Monday for a scan.
“It was an innocuous tackle, just a coming together. It hurt and I couldn’t carry on so I knew it wasn’t good. But I was maybe in a bit of denial because I was thinking, at my age, ‘I can’t have a serious injury now’. Turns out it was worst-case scenario.
Faith
“In my head I just didn’t feel ready to give up. So I had the surgery done and worked my nuts off all last year.”
That graft consisted of double gym sessions – one on his lunch break and another after work – before putting the feelers out for a new club.
Former Gosport team-mate Adam Wilde is now Louis Langdown’s assistant at Totton and they quickly drafted him in.
Bennett got back on the pitch in September and is now back to match fitness and is looking to repay the faith Langdown and Wilde placed in him.
“It’s psychological getting in a few heavy tackles but it’s held up OK – as soon as you’re playing, you forget all you had to go through to get there,” he added.
“I’m just going to enjoy the time I’ve got left playing football.”
He’s already scored three goals and last weekend made an emotion return to Gosport Borough where he guided his side to victory in the FA Trophy first round qualifying.
With Dorchester Town awaiting next, Bennett reflected on the remarkable spirit that took Gosport all the way to the hallowed turf back in 2014.
“We’ve still got a WhatsApp group we all take the mick out of each other in,” Bennett said.
“The boys are still really close and always will be because of what we achieved.”