Joe Bryan’s season debut has been quite erratic, much like Millwall’s. Thus, his superbly played equalising goal in the 2-2 draw with Hull City last Saturday was undoubtedly a positive move.
After his two goals in the play-off final at Wembley in August 2020, which defeated Brentford and propelled Fulham into the Premier League, the 30-year-old scored for the first time in the Championship.
Bryan joined the Lions in July as a free agent, and he has started five of the team’s first eight league games.
He had a concussion during training in August, which prevented him from playing in the 3-1 loss to Norwich. The former Bristol City player was then forced to miss the Den’s loss to Leeds United and a draw against Birmingham at the beginning of October due to a groyne strain.
Prior to the team’s temporary suspension for the international break, the South Londoners experienced a positive moment as he finished calmly past Hull goalie Ryan Allsop.
Not that Bryan immediately went on social media to seek after compliments.
He told the South London Press, “I had a few texts from friends and family, which was nice, but I’m not one for scouring Twitter or news sites for ratings, nice comments, or horrible comments.” I discovered very early in my career not to do that.
“I’ve come to Millwall to score goals and contribute, to do stuff like that (his goal on Saturday). In terms of performance, it seems as though I am gradually returning to my proper level.
“I’ve discussed it fairly candidly. People probably aren’t aware of how long it takes to become completely match fit after a protracted absence from the game. Your body needs a very long time to travel there.
“I experienced one or two little setbacks at the beginning of the season.
“I merely went up for a header and got caught for the concussion. anything’s unlikely that the club said anything, but they were required to adhere to a strict process. It is not appropriate to play about with such stuff.
“It was annoying since it was just one more small obstacle in my way of winning a lot of games.”
“It had been two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back, so it was a huge accomplishment to be involved in the final three games of the week.”
“I’m at a point in my health and performance where I can once more have a good impact on games while still playing most of the minutes. It is challenging to enter one of those weeks where it is Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday when you haven’t done that for two or three years; it is really taxing on your body.
Bryan has previously discussed his struggles with mental health, including how Fulham’s books helped him deal with anxiety and sadness.
On Tuesday, which was also World Mental Health Day, Bryan and the club recorded a video in which they discussed some of the systems that help him stay well. In addition to his passion for football, he writes a journal and has taken up photography.
Bryan disclosed that there was a setback due to the groyne damage.
“When five or six things go wrong for you in a row over a few weeks, it can make you feel depressed,” Bryan said. “I noticed that I was starting to feel a little down.
By coincidence, I found myself having a conversation about it at a coffee shop with my best friend Dan. After talking about it, you suddenly recognise that things aren’t so awful and that you’ll be back in shape in a week.
Simply put, it’s normalising it. “I don’t feel right; I’m having a bit of a s*** time right now.” “So am I, buddy—that’s kind of typical, isn’t it?” Though we all experience it, males are expected to be extremely strong and never display vulnerability.
Bryan is gushing over Casper De Norre’s contribution to his first Lions goal.
Bryan was threaded a pass by the Belgian midfielder, who was also added during the summer transfer window, on the left side of the Hull box.
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