After spending a year on the sidelines without playing professional football, Malayali footballer Arjun Jayaraj's career has taken another unexpected turn.
The 24-year-old midfielder signed a three-year deal with Kerala Blasters in 2019 but couldn't make a single appearance for the Yellow Army.
The player, for whose signature Blasters paid a transfer fee to Gokulam Kerala, suffered an ankle injury at the beginning of the 2019-20 season and that, in hindsight, was also the beginning of the end for the player's Blasters career.
He was not included in the squad for ISL 2019-20 by then-coach Eelco Schattorie due to his injury and what followed was a long drawn out process of surgery and rehabilitation.
It was heartbreaking for the 24-year-old who had just taken a big step forward in his football career. "To miss the whole season after just coming on board at a new club is devastating. More than frustration, it was a disappointment that I felt. Such an injury was a first for me in my career. I really wanted to play for Kerala Blasters after signing for them last season so it was disappointing to miss out due to injury," Arjun had told Goal after he had recovered.
After months of testing himself in practice grounds near his home and working on his fitness amid the Coronavirus pandemic, Jayaraj was deemed fit enough to be included in the Blasters squad which entered the bio-bubble in Goa.
I-League
It looked to be a fresh start for Arjun but despite training with the team in pre-season, the player couldn't break into any of the three matchday squads that Kibu Vicuna put out for Blasters' ISL 2020-21 matches.
Arjun also faced stiff competition in midfield from the likes of Givson Singh, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Ritwik Das and Rohit Kumar apart from foreign midfielders such as Sergio Cidoncha (who is now injured and out for most of the season) and Vicente Gomes. There were only two spots at most for Indian midfielders in Vicuna's lineup and the former Mohun Bagan coach had plenty of options to choose from. Arjun, coming from a lengthy layoff, was firmly down the pecking order.
A loan move was always on the cards and it looked inevitable after missing out in the first three matches. The former Gokulam Kerala midfielder opted for a mutual termination of the contract that still had nearly two years left in it.
Arjun had a breakout 2017-18 season with the Malabarians under Bino George. He couldn't replicate the same form the following year but was still considered a hot prospect. He then lost an entire season to injury and now, first-team minutes are the top priority for the player. And he will be hoping to make it to an I-League club soon to play in the league that starts only in January.
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