Peterborough United player has had to learn how to walk again following his horror injury

Dan Butler after picking up his injury early in a December game against Millwall.

The 27 year-old suffered nasty damage to his left ankle in the early stages of a 2-1 Championship win over Millwall at the Weston Homes Stadium on December 11, but four months later he can finally see light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Too late to help Posh in their increasingly desperate fight to avoid relegation this season, but soon enough to target a return to action in time for the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

“I’ve been lucky enough to avoid injuries for most of my career,” Butler revealed. “And when that tackle came in against me in the Millwall game I knew I was injured, but I thought I could run it off.

Dan Butler of Peterborough United leaves the pitch after picking up his injury in the home win over Millwall.

“It wasn’t a foul, or at least one wasn’t given, so I didn’t think a lot of it at first, but I soon realised it was a bad one.

“Apparently my ankle became dislocated and then then popped back into place which is why I felt I could run it off, but it turned to be a bad injury.

“It’s an unusual one as well. I haven’t been able to find a single player who has suffered the same injury so I couldn’t get help with how the recovery would go and it’s been a struggle at times, but I’ve managed to stay positive with the help of my family, the club staff and teammates.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries so I’ve seen quite a few different players in the treatment room and it’s helped me build relationships with some of them.

“It helps having other players around you. I am in the gym in the lot and I try and beat Nathan Thompson on the bike. He’s good though!

“It has been hard. I had to sleep on the sofa for eight weeks as I had to keep my foot raised. I basically had to learn to walk again and I had to be patient as it was important not to start walking with a limp.

“I couldn’t put any weight on my foot for ages, but I’m getting there. I was struggling to walk a couple of months, but now I’m close to running and jumping again.

“I’ve taken the recovery in small steps. I’ve not let myself get too focused on my end goal which is get back into training and start helping the lads.”