Hatters midfielder feared his season was over after suffering ligament damage in Germany
Clark discusses his worries after serious injury against Bochum
Town midfielder Jordan Clark revealed he thought his first shot at being a Premier League player had been dashed after suffering a serious injury during pre-season.
The 30-year-old was part of a Luton team who were playing a double-header in Germany against VfL Bochum back in August.
Having completed almost the entire 90 minutes, Clark then tore his ankle ligaments in the closing stages of the 2-1 friendly defeat, which saw him stretchered off.
It immediately ruled him out of the opening day trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, but the former Accrington winger had serious concerns it could have been far, far worse, initially thinking his campaign was over before even starting.
He said: “I tried to play a pass and got my foot trapped in the grass and went over on it.
"I was lucky I didn't break anything or dislocate anything, just snapped one of my ligaments, which was not ideal but could have been worse.
"I've got some nice metal in me now, so hopefully I don't go off when going through the airport.
"It was a killer though, I was very emotional in the first week, especially being sat on my settee not being able to do anything.
"My girlfriend was having to run around for me as I couldn’t do anything.
"I had to keep my leg up for 22 hours of the day, so that was a bit of a nightmare.
"At first I thought it was a six month injury, so I broke down in tears as you never know when you come back you might get little niggles and stuff.
“I didn’t know if I would play a part this season, but then when they said three months, you can keep cracking on with little things.”
Having had a much better diagnosis, Clark set his sights on getting himself in the best shape possible for the top flight, continuing: “You’re stuck in the gym so it’s a bit harder, but then when you start to get out on the grass it starts to give you a bit of motivation.
“You see the lads training and you think, a couple of weeks now and I should be back in there.
"My mentality was just like, I’ve got to do even more than what I can do as this level is unforgiving.
"The last thing I wanted to be was not fit and not stronger than I was previously, so that was the target I set.
"The physios, they’re top men, I love them all to bits, and the sports sciences and strength and conditioning guys, I can’t thank them enough.”
After being on the bench for the 1-1 draw against Liverpool, Clark then made his comeback and a first ever Premier League outing last weekend when coming on during the Hatters’ 1-0 defeat at Manchester United.
Having been sidelined for so long, the ex-Accrington winger is determined to win his place back in a Hatters midfield he was such an integral part of last term, adding: “Football’s funny, you get the highs of Wembley, do a whole pre-season and then the week before the first game you get ruptured ankle ligaments.
"So it was a bit of a kick in the teeth, it brings you back down to earth a little bit.
"It just makes you more hungry and when I’ve been watching the games, I’ve been like, I can’t wait to get back, stamp my authority on the team and get back to how I was playing before I got injured.”