James Milner feared he might never walk properly again, let alone continue a long playing career, after complications arising from knee surgery earlier this season.
Now he is set to agree a new contract with Brighton & Hove Albion that will take him past 40 and possibly see him break the record for most appearances in the Premier League.
That is held by Gareth Barry, who played 653 times in the competition. Milner closed to within 16 of the record with his surprise 638th appearance as a 93rd-minute substitute in the 4-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur in Sunday’s final fixture of the campaign.
Milner’s fleeting first outing since August, granted by Fabian Hurzeler as a reward for the support he has given the 32-year-old German in his first season as Brighton’s head coach, camouflaged circumstances that have challenged even a hardened veteran renowned in the game for his fitness levels and determination.
Milner thought he had experienced pretty much everything in a career that started with boyhood club Leeds United as a 16-year-old in 2002, continued through spells with Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City, plus 61 caps for England, before joining Brighton on a free transfer in 2023 following eight trophy-laden years at Liverpool.
Nothing could prepare him, however, for the ramifications of a knee operation that came after he had started the first two games of this season. Milner was in the starting line-up again for Brighton’s third league match, but lasted only 17 minutes of that 1-1 draw at Arsenal.
Milner suffered an injury at Arsenal in August (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
“I had a contact injury in training before the Arsenal game where I hurt my knee,” says Milner, talking after the Tottenham match for the first time about the problems he has faced this season. “They (medical staff) went into that and it was stable, but we knew it would be painful. I gave it a go. My hamstring reacted, so it looked like it came off my hamstring, but there was nothing wrong with my hamstring.
“I had a knee operation, which was fine. I would have been back at the start of December (but) in the operation, a nerve got damaged. I came out of the operation and couldn’t lift my foot or my toes. The first time I saw any flicker of life was the 31st of December, and it (the foot) still didn’t move.
“So, it has been a long, tough one, probably one that drove me. I don’t think many people would have come back from it. The medical staff have been incredible. I would have been back from my knee injury early December, did all the work in the gym, the knee has been brilliant, my fitness work has been good.
“We pushed it as hard as we could with the foot and did everything we could, but I was in a brace for four or five months, so I couldn’t lift my toes. In terms of my physical condition, I have been on the pitch for a good few months now and I have just got to be careful with contact, waiting for full strength to come back, which is pretty much there now.
“So, I just ran out of time (to play more this season). I would have been fit and involved from now on if the season had been longer. It has not been an age-related injury or anything like that, it’s a one in however many thousand (chance). I don’t think many people have seen it in football before. It was just bad luck, really, after starting the first few games of the season and feeling good.”
Hurzeler brought Milner on in stoppage time at Spurs in place of Yankuba Minteh to say thank you for his support, “because he was always there for me, always there for the team”. That included travelling to away games — Milner was in the stands with goalkeeper coach Jack Stern for the 2-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers two weeks ago in the penultimate away game of the season.
“It’s been frustrating,” Milner admits. “For the manager to say that is obviously nice. I’ve tried to help as much as I can off the field, help him and help the boys. It’s a lot easier on the pitch, when you can bark at them from a lot closer, instead of being in the stands.
“There was a chance I wouldn’t come back at all, for sure. My first mindset was to try to get the knee as strong as possible, which we did as much as we could with exercises without being able to lift your toes or your foot. The physio, Sean Duggan, was incredible, and the rest of the medical team.
“It wasn’t an ideal scenario. I didn’t know if I could walk normally again, never mind play football, but thankfully, we worked hard and the hard work has paid off. To get on the field with the boys and see them turn it around in the second half (having trailed 1-0 at the break) was special.”
Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh with Milner at Spurs on Sunday (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Minteh, 20, and 21-year-old midfielder Carlos Baleba lifted a reluctant Milner onto their shoulders to join in the celebrations in front of the away fans at Tottenham as Brighton clinched eighth position, the second-highest finish in the club’s 124-year history. Unfortunately, they narrowly missed out on qualification for Europe.
“I would have tried to fight them off, but they are both very strong and I don’t think the physio would have been too happy with that,” Milner says. “It’s an incredible group, and that’s my role here. It’s frustrating that I haven’t been able to do it on the field since three games in.
“Everything you do off the field, whether it’s conversations with the boys, video stuff or speaking to them in the changing room, it’s 10 times easier if you are on the pitch with them and they will improve 10 times quicker, but you see how much potential is out there, the young players we have, the ability. They are a great bunch of lads. I am just going to help them improve as much as possible.”
The scenes at the end of the match could easily have been mistaken for Milner saying farewell to Brighton, but The Athletic revealed this month that he is in discussions with his representatives and the club to extend his stay beyond a contract which expires in June. Those talks are progressing towards an agreement.
“I feel good and I would like to keep playing,” Milner says. “I have got another year in me, at least. We are in talks with the club and we’re quite close, so hopefully it would be nice to be here again and be part of the team and help the boys.
“Nobody (medical experts) said, ‘Quit the game’. There were obviously doubts from people that I’d get back. Nobody said quit, because they didn’t know what was going to happen with my age and what I had. Not many people have had it, so I think it was highly unlikely that I got back, but that was some of the things that drove me on.
“I have been back training with the team this week. I thought after that amount of time I’d feel a bit rusty and achy, but the amount of work I have done in the last seven months in the gym and working on everything else, I feel really good. It’s good that the work has paid off and I feel as though I have got more in me.
“The quality is there (in the squad). The more games they get, the better they’ll get. The manager has come in and done a fantastic job. After a season under his belt, knowing the players and what the Premier League is about, it’s exciting for next season.”
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)