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Liverpool midfielder Luca Stephenson, who is on loan at Dundee United for a second successive season, has detailed how he played through "screaming pain" for months last term.
Stephenson was named Dundee United’s Young Player of the Year last season and impressed under Jim Goodwin. This season, he has gone back on loan north of the border after his last campaign ended in April due to a double hernia surgery.
"You almost forget what it’s like to feel 100 per cent fit," Stephenson told The Courier. "Last year, I didn’t feel that an awful lot. This season, I feel as sharp as I’ve ever been. I played on a lot of medication last year.
"I didn't train much during the week. I would do Thursday and Friday sessions, then play on a Saturday. It was a lot of tablets on the Friday and Saturdays building up to the matches.
"The running wasn’t so bad; it was more the ball striking. I couldn’t really kick the ball beyond five yards or 10 yards without getting a screaming pain in my groin to the abdominal area, which isn’t great as a footballer.
"The medication eased it. But when you got 70 to 75 minutes and that wore off, you were just back in square one again."
When Stephenson eventually went under the knife, manager Goodwin said: "Luca has been playing with a double hernia for about the last four months.
"Liverpool have been brilliant and have allowed Luca to manage it himself. Credit to him for the resilience and determination he has shown in order to play through the pain barrier for the club."
Stephenson impressed for Liverpool in the summer as he took part in pre-season under Arne Slot. But at the age of 22, he needs to be playing regularly and wouldn't have got enough chances had he stayed with the Reds.
"Obviously I was away in Asia for a couple of weeks with Liverpool pre-season," he said when his move back to Dundee United was confirmed.
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"I paid no attention to anything really, and the minute I was told I could get myself back out on loan again, it all happened in a couple of days, really, so my thoughts didn't go anywhere else except for Dundee United.
"Being on loan, it's not the easiest thing in the world, knowing you're only going to be in places for a short amount of time, a year here, a year there. I wanted to be somewhere I was happy, I was comfortable.
"I liked the dressing room, I liked the manager, and I wanted to be somewhere where I was appreciated for another year.
"I just felt the support was massive last year from everybody at the club, and I thought if it was another loan, then why not have another go at it?"
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