Izzy Brown believes he’s finally on the comeback trail after an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee and hamstring issues curtailed his young career.
The Chelsea forward signed for Luton on transfer deadline day on a season-long loan deal and was he wasted no time in impressing in a Hatters shirt, with a starring 66-minute role in the 3-1 Carabao Cup win over Ipswich on Tuesday night.
That was the 22-year-old’s first start since January 8, 2018, when he was showing promising signs a Premier League player, while on loan at Brighton and Hove Albion. That’s where he suffered the ACL blow. a day after his 21st birthday.
Brown said: “I’ve been really unlucky. I think bad luck comes in threes, and I’ve had my three injuries now.
“Hopefully that’s me done and I can kick on with my football and get back to playing week in week out, which is what I want to do here.
“The gaffer’s pulled me and said, ‘I just want you to work hard every day in training and you’ll get chances here.’
“So that’s why I decided to come here, and I feel like I can get the best out of myself here as well.
“You’re always going to get people who say, ‘he’s made of glass’ and things like that, but people don’t know how demanding football is.
“For me to get my ACL injury was a tough time. I was just trying to break through at Brighton in the Premier League and I was so happy to be playing in the Prem and then you get a setback like that.
“Now it’s just about the comeback and I feel like I’m fitter than I’ve ever been and I’m sharper than I’ve ever been, so I think it’s going to be an amazing season.”
On his performance against Ipswich, in which fans instantly took a shine to him, singing his name, Brown said: “It was good to get out there for the first time, it’s difficult to come into a team and not know the players.
“You have to adapt really quickly, but I felt like the boys have made me feel welcome straight away from the first training session.
“It kind of clicked on the pitch, with everything I was trying to do and I think the way we played and the way I played, it showed going forward what we can bring to the team.”
