It was about eight months ago when Gary Hastings was convinced he’d never play football again, announcing his retirement aged 27 following another horrific knee injury, but after what medical professionals have labelled a “miracle”, he’s ready for another season.

Hastings was once described as “an absolute gem with huge potential” by Gary Hamilton after breaking into Glenavon’s senior side aged 15 while Paul Millar said “he has a genuine chance of making it” upon joining newly-promoted Premier League outfit Cardiff City in 2013.

However, Hastings’ career was heavily impacted by injuries, firstly suffering a broken leg and ruptured ankle ligaments in the early stages of his time in Wales and then required an ACL reconstruction in September 2023.

Fearing he’d suffered a recurrence of the same injury 12 months later alongside an MCL rupture, Hastings decided to call it a day, hanging his boots up and taking on a youth coaching role at former club Glenavon.

placeholder image — Gary Hastings after suffering a serious injury while playing for Oxford Sunnyside. (Photo by Gary Hastings)

While multiple surgeons were convinced Hastings would need another ACL surgery, leaving the attacker resigned to never stepping on a pitch again, MRI results miraculously came back clear, allowing him to rediscover a buzz which he feared was gone forever.

"I went to see two or three different surgeons and they all said '100% it's gone again' but they sent me for an MRI anyway,” he said. “The surgeon came in and I was fully expecting to hear ‘it's fully gone and this is the surgery’, but she said 'there's good news'.

"The graft was still completely intact...I had a fully ruptured MCL on the inside and the popping noise was the impact of the two bones colliding. She said it was a really bad impact injury and the MCL was torn...she hadn't seen anything like that in 20 years.

"It was classed as a miracle and she said she would have put her house on it being gone. It took a couple of days for it to sink in. One of my first questions was 'can I play again?'.

"I had almost just tried to stop thinking about football from a playing perspective. You're convinced you'll never be playing football again, but in the space of 10 seconds that's all flipped.

"It was more shock and disbelief at the start and then you get the buzz back for playing. Coaching is great, but it's completely different to playing and maybe having another couple of enjoyable years left playing would be great."

Trying to accept his football career was over at 27 presented challenges for Hastings, who has also spent time on the books of Linfield, Carrick Rangers and Oxford Sunnyside, but this latest development has given him an even greater appreciation for the sport.

"After the injury I was just completely heartbroken by it and you're trying to digest it,” he added. “It's hard trying to accept that.

"It opens your eyes that you can't play forever, but I would rather walk off the pitch myself on my own terms than being stretchered off it.

"I'm more grateful for it now. You'd take games or even training for granted, but you realise it's like an egg timer ticking away.

"Once you've been through this, had an extended period of time away and then get to go back, you savour everything.”

This week, Hastings joined Amateur League outfit Willowbank, a Belfast-based club who’ve progressed rapidly through the ranks and have sights set on going even further.

Hastings’ ambitions have changed since holding that professional dream a decade ago, but his love for football remains just as strong, and he’s determined to make the most of this bonus chapter.

"In September, I never thought I'd have this feeling but I'm so excited for the year ahead,” he said. "I played 90 minutes on Saturday and felt great, even twisting and turning the knee felt strong.

"The first couple of training sessions I was a bit tentative because a lot of pitches now are artificial so there's no real give. I'm able to take the confidence from work done away from the pitch onto it and be confident that it will hold up.

"A couple of mates who I played with at Crumlin Star and other guys i know are at Willowbank. I've always admired the way they play...we played them in pre-season last summer and they play attractive football.

"In the likes of the PIL or Championship...I had a couple of different offers but I want to focus on enjoyment and playing in a good team close to home."