There are three letters that all athletes dread hearing: ACL. A torn ACL signifies a grueling recovery of at least nine months and the possibility of never returning to prior form. For Lennon Gill, his ACL tear was the beginning of a nearly two-year odyssey.
In May 2022, Lennon Gill was 17 years old and playing for University College Dublin (UCD) A.F.C, a team in the League of Ireland First Division. Approximately 70 minutes into the match, Gill heard a pop in one of his knees as he planted his leg to run after the ball. He initially went down but immediately got up under his own power and walked off the pitch.
A few hours later, he noticed swelling in the same knee. Little did he know that his career would be forever changed.
“I didn’t initially think it was that bad,” Gill said. “Then I went and got a scan and [found out] I tore my ACL.”
It’s a diagnosis no athlete wants to receive due to its lengthy recovery time and tough rehabilitation process. Unfortunately for Gill, he was going to have to go through it and then some. He received ACL reconstruction surgery approximately two months after the injury. After almost a year, he was still dealing with pain and instability.
“It didn’t heal the way I wanted it to heal,” Gill said. “I was still getting a lot of pain and I should’ve been back playing at this point. I couldn’t really jump properly.”
In September 2023, approximately 15 months after receiving ACL reconstruction surgery, Gill went under the knife again. This time, an arthroscopy was performed where a tendon graft was inserted to replace the ACL. Gill described the time just before the procedure as his lowest point, especially because he wasn’t guaranteed the best possible outcome.
“It was definitely tough,” Gill said. “I was thinking after the initial injury, in about a year’s time, I’ll be back. Then, it ended up being two years. It just kept playing in my mind that maybe I won’t get back or maybe I won’t get back to the level where I was.”
Thankfully for Gill, the second surgery was successful and he was finally on the road to recovery. However, it was too late for him to continue his career with UCD, as his contract was set to expire at the end of the year.
“My time was finishing at the club,” Gill said. “I wasn’t doing proper rehab either because I was leaving the club so I was getting less attention. I was trying to strengthen up my knee with no help, just doing it by myself in a public gym.”
Gill wasn’t completely alone, since he had friends and family. One of those friends was Colm Whelan, a former teammate at UCD who had torn his ACL approximately five months before Gill. Before the end of 2023, the pair began working together – that’s when Gill regained his confidence.
“He was ahead of me in the rehab phase,” Gill said. “I started looking to him and inspiring to progress the way he was going, saying [to myself] ‘That’ll be me in a few months, just keep working.’”
Today, Whelan plays professionally for Derry City F.C. in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top level of the Ireland soccer league system.
A month before the injury, Gill got in contact with Hofstra University. Despite the injury, the Pride didn’t lose interest in Gill and he kept them updated on his recovery. His arrival at Hofstra was delayed by one semester due to his second surgery, but he finally arrived in January of 2024.
This was when Gill’s return to fitness truly began. He started working with Brian DeVeaux, a physical therapist, as soon as he arrived on campus. It was a huge step forward for Gill on his way back from injury.
“[DeVeaux] was perfect because that’s probably what I was missing at home,” Gill said. “Someone [who was] very disciplined with me and say, ‘This is what we need to do, step-by-step, to get you back on the pitch.’ I had too big of an injury to do it myself; I needed expert help and he helped me a lot.”
DeVeaux devoted his time to Gill in his effort to return to peak fitness, guiding the young man throughout the process. It was difficult, but Gill was finally getting the professional assistance he needed to return to form.
“At the time, it was tough,” Gill said. “The rehab isn’t fun, sometimes it’s very sore. My legs were very weak, I was trying to do all this work and it’s tedious. When you’re doing it every day, it’s tough mentally to motivate yourself. I don’t think I’d necessarily motivate myself to do an hour and a half of physical therapy without [DeVeaux]. Once I’m in with him, he’d be with me through the whole session, talking me through it.”
Gill’s rehabilitation at Hofstra was more than just a physical battle. He was away from home and in another country for the first time while trying to get his playing career back on track.
“At the start of the year when I wasn’t practicing and I was just doing physical therapy, I was probably homesick for the first five months,” Gill said. “I was missing home at the start of the year because it was a change: new country, new people and I was missing [soccer] as well. When I [was] playing at home, at least I had my family and my friends to hang around with, but then when you’re here, it could be long by yourself. It was tough to deal with.”
After months of work and determination, Gill returned to the pitch and began training with the rest of the team. He fully recovered in time for the start of his freshman season and he now makes regular appearances. After beginning his time at Hofstra in solitude, he was finally able to mingle with his teammates and coaches.
“Eoin Farrell,” Gill said. “He’s another Irishman. He helps me a lot. Even during the summer, when I was doing physical therapy and starting to integrate into non-contact stuff, he’d do a lot of work with me. We’d do our own personal sessions, and he’d just help me, him passing me the ball and me shooting.”
Gill also found solace in his new coaching staff, especially through head coach Richard Nuttall.
“[Nuttall]’s perfect with me,” Gill said. “I think he had a knee injury before he was telling me about, so he understood what I was going through. When you’re starting to get your first games back, you’re not going to be 100%, so he understood there was going to be a bit of a time period before I get up to speed.”
Gill scored his first goal for the Pride against the University of North Carolina Wilmington on Sept. 14. He recorded his first brace against Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rivals Elon University, a performance which earned him CAA Offensive Player of the Week.
After 22 months, two surgeries and flying overseas from one home to another, Gill has found his old self again.
When speaking about Gill in postgame press conferences throughout the start of the season, Nuttall usually brought up Gill’s 22-month ACL injury prior to the start of the season. He also talked about Gill’s fitness issues and how he was still yet to reach his peak.
“I agree with [Nuttall],” Gill said. “In practice I was doing well but I knew that I just needed that extra 10% fitness and confidence in myself. I knew for the first two or three games; I was in the back of my mind still worrying about my knee. That eased away the more confidence I grew and the more games I was playing. I don’t think about my knee injury anymore because it’s a thing of the past now.”
Gill has scored four goals in his first 13 appearances for Hofstra, ranking solo third in the squad for individual points. He’s started six times and has yet to miss a single game. His comeback has taught him more about life beyond the pitch.
“Mental strength,” Gill said. “At the start when you’re playing less minutes, obviously you want to be playing more. It’s about putting in hard work and practice; just keep going and believing in yourself. Even when things aren’t necessarily going well or you’re not scoring, just go again next week and try to do better than you’ve been playing.”
Gill’s injury and long rehab has given him wisdom far beyond his years, wisdom that he wishes to pass down to other athletes.
“Never stop working,” Gill said. “Don’t ever give up, because the worst thing you can do is give up. It’s exactly what [DeVeaux] was telling me: if you don’t do the work, you’ll probably regret it. [It’s better to endure] nine months of hard work to get yourself back rather than if you give up and never return.”
Gill’s recovery was a long and brutal ordeal, but with the help of DeVeaux, as well as his loved ones, he has managed to not only return to form, but to excel for the Pride.
“I know how hard it is mentally and physically,” Gill said. “It’s definitely mentally worse. When you find out you have a really bad injury, it’s hard to process. You don’t know how it’s going to work out or if you get back. You have all these doubts, but it’s just about working hard and believing in yourself always.”
Gill can now focus on the next chapter which is playing collegiate soccer for a nationally ranked program at Hofstra University.
