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The Long Journey

Emerson Hyndman's road back to the pitch

By Atlanta United FC

June 3^rd, 2022

Toward the back of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground, past the team locker room and the weight room, past the rehab room and the kit room, is a small space. It’s not the first team’s main locker room, but a smaller one. Sometimes, it’s a changing room for 2s players. Sometimes, it’s storage for equipment. Numerous cubbies line the walls, filled with cleats that are all different colors – pink, yellow, blue, black.

The lights in the room are dimmed and a spotlight gives the space a red glow, creating a serious mood. Two cameras are set up on tripods, both pointed in the direction of a single chair. Players go through the process: sit in the chair, look into the camera, answer questions.

It’s Emerson Hyndman’s turn. He’s clad in all black, which blends in with the shadows of the makeshift studio. The darkness makes it hard not to notice the dressing on his lower body.

On his feet: a pair of stark white Crocs.

They bounce on the floor as Hyndman talks, about what it’s been like getting in the mix at training, what his goals are for this season, how it's been working with head coach Gonzalo Pineda. Hyndman details how he fits into the midfield group and what it’ll be like to step onto the pitch for the first time this season.

“Game day is always the best day of the week,” he says. “That’s what you train for.”

And the darkened room, with his shoes bright like a set of recently whitened teeth, almost takes the attention away from the long, deep scar on his right knee. But for Hyndman, the scar represents so much. It represents his journey, one that goes from scoring a goal at one of the club’s highest points, the Campeones Cup final, to being on the sideline, forced into the role of spectator.

It's a scar that shows all the stages: the twisted fall, the torn tissue, the prescribed surgery, the mental hurdles, the long and difficult climb.

The scar shows the long road Hyndman has taken to get here. But he’s on his way back.

And he’s doing it in style.

It’s June 20, 2021, and Atlanta United is playing host to the Philadelphia Union. It’s early in the season. Atlanta United enters the match with a 2-1-4 record, looking for three points at home against a fierce Eastern Conference challenger.

The national anthem plays, and Hyndman’s feet start to go. The teams kick off. The 5-Stripes play well and appear to be on their way to victory. They have a two-goal lead going into the final minutes of the second half. But less than 60 seconds after Atlanta United extends the lead, Philadelphia gets a goal of their own. Atlanta United’s lead is cut to 2-1 in the 84th minute.

Hyndman is watching it all unfold from the sideline. His feet start to go. He’s ready for to hit the pitch. More and more, with each minute that passes. He watches on, eager to get in and play the game he loves. He wants the coach to call his name. He wants to answer the cheers from the supporters groups who know him so well and know what he can do. He wants to help his team protect the win.

But Philadelphia scores the equalizer in stoppage time. The teams draw. Atlanta United earns a bittersweet point.

The realization hits Hyndman. The coach isn’t going to call his name, he won’t be able to help the team. He’s not going to see the pitch, he’s not going to play.

Not just that day, nor that week – but for a very long time.

"Those were very tough to actually go to the games and see the atmosphere,” he says. “But just being around it, it was almost kind of a constant reminder of look at what you have to look forward to when you get back.”

It wasn’t a tactical move or a coach’s decision that kept Hyndman off the pitch against Philadelphia. It’s Atlanta United’s first home match since he tore his ACL. The injury occurred during a training session, an incident that Hyndman describes as “random” and “unfortunate.”

“I just went to press the ball, no contact or anything,” he says. “Just went to play and my foot gave way.”

Shortly after the club makes the announcement, Hyndman undergoes surgery. He begins the rehabilitation process, which is expected to take 9-12 months. It’s the first serious injury of his career. A long-term recovery process is one he’s never had to face before.

“I've had little stuff, tweaks and stuff out in the past,” he says. “But it’s a completely different challenge.”

Rehabilitation makes him miss most of the 2021 season. The process is familiar for another Atlanta United teammate. Josef Martínez, the club’s all-time leading scorer, tore his ACL in the early part of the 2020 season. He’d gone through the same process as Hyndman, just a year earlier.

And so, as Hyndman begins the long journey back, Martínez offers him something:

“He gave the advice he could,” Hyndman says. “He said, obviously this is not going to get better too fast. He said just do what you can, do everything they tell you to do, do it properly, and it'll run its course. You just got to come in prepared every day and do the right things.”

With that expectation, Hyndman begins his recovery.

“At the beginning it was tough,” he says. “Regardless of what you think, you're going be out for a long time and not be able to do what you love, so it's always tough for it to sink in.”

The process continues, slowly but surely. He gets into a rhythm and takes it a little bit at a time. A long-term recovery is intimidating – nine, ten months seems a long way off. But Hyndman dives into recovery. He does the work.

“Once you get in the process of working every day with the trainers and you can see yourself improving week by week, that’s a big motivation,” he says. “And once you get to those months down the road, when you're getting really close to it, you realize how much it was all worth it.”

Hyndman understands that – without soccer, without playing alongside his teammates, without the structure and routine of training, without having a place to be at every day – he needs to keep himself busy. He doesn’t pick up any specific hobbies. Instead, he focuses on spending time with the people in his circle.

“You just don't want to be sitting at home alone,” he says. “Even if you're doing a hobby, it's still that way. So it was a lot of experiencing new things and going different places. And that kept me happy and active.”

He focuses on strength training. He gains weight, what he calls “good muscle.” He works a lot on his legs to build them up. He wants them to be powerful again.

“You don't really think twice about not having football in your life when you're a footballer,” he says. “So for me, it was finding what can I improve on that isn't football exactly and what can I do.”

He credits his support system, which is well-rounded – family, friends, Atlanta United medical staff, coaches, teammates. Each one of them, he says, played a huge part. He credits them with helping him keep his head up.

“There's tough days in a nine-month recovery,” he says. “So, on those tough days, it's the people around you that that keep you going. And I was lucky to have that.”

Atlanta United’s 2022 preseason kicks off in January. It was a short offseason, one of the shortest in MLS history.

Hyndman is available to media after training on January 21. He explains the injury to local reporters and where he’s at now. He’s been working individually with athletic trainers Mario Cruz and Sean Cropper. He credits them with his smooth recovery, for giving him help and being there for him every step of the way.

“It was more about attitude and doing the right things,” he says. “Obviously no setbacks helps a lot, and I've been very blessed to that degree.”

He says he’s eager to come back. He’s close to rejoining the team at training. He’s rational and patient about his recovery. He’s not rushing himself or adding any pressure. He’s taking Martínez’s advice: taking it one step at a time.

“Obviously the time to compete for places will come,” he says. “For me it’s just about getting up and down the field.”

He talks about going by feel and hitting little targets. One of those targets is making the team’s upcoming trip. Part of Atlanta United’s preseason includes a two-week trip to Mexico. The team will be training there and playing scrimmages against three Mexican professional clubs.

Hyndman hits that target. He makes the trip. And on February 2, 2022, Pineda gathers the team together where they’re training at Club Atlas Colomos in Guadalajara. Pineda tells the team it’s a “very special day.” Then the head coach signals Hyndman and says he’s going to be back on the field training for the first time since injury.

His teammates applaud and welcome him back. Wearing the red and gold training gear, Hyndman smiles.

“Even off the field mentally, you just have to remind yourself that the next day is coming,” he says. “You just have to work harder the next day. It was obviously a tough grind, but thankful for the staff. And we've had some players obviously they've had it before and they were there to give advice and help out whenever I needed.”

April 16, 2022 – match day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta United is hosting a different Eastern Conference opponent. This time, it’s the blue and orange of FC Cincinnati. The match is the only time the club plays at home in the month of April. Supporters are raucous, hoping for a win.

The match goes back-and-forth. Atlanta United dominates possession but can’t find the back of the net. The score is 0-0 heading late into the final minutes.

His feet start to go. Only this time, it’s for a different reason. This time, he’s getting on the pitch.

Pineda calls his name. In the 80th minute, Hyndman checks in. He runs onto the pitch for the first time in 322 days.

“It felt amazing, especially to do it at home in front of the crowd, it was an amazing feeling,” he says. “It was a long journey for me, but it was all worth it for sure.”

It becomes a regular comment on official Atlanta United social media posts.

Announce Hyndman.

Any word on Hyndman?

When’s Hyndman coming back?

The 17s root hard for Hyndman’s comeback. They know the quality he possesses, how important he was to Atlanta United’s success. He wasn’t just a role player or a super sub. Hyndman is one of only a few players part who was on the roster during the club's run to the Eastern Conference final in 2019. He helped the club win a trophy, too – the Campeones Cup in 2019. He scored the opening goal in the title match between Atlanta United and Club América.

And in the early part of 2021, Hyndman was a huge part of the team’s success. Prior to his injury, he started all seven of Atlanta United’s matches in MLS. He scored a goal against Chicago Fire in the team’s second match of the season. He assisted Martínez in the striker’s first goal back from injury.

“I want to thank them a lot,” he says. “It’s tough to be on the sidelines and watch everything happen. But I'm very thankful that Atlanta has a great fan base.”

After he makes his first appearance against FC Cincinnati, he continues to see minutes. In Atlanta’s next match on the road against Inter Miami, Hyndman comes on as a sub again. In the next two matches, he plays more. He goes from playing 11 minutes to 15 to 24.

He’s a welcome addition to the group and provides depth at his position. He joins Matheus Rossetto, Franco Ibarra, Santiago Sosa and Amar Sejdić in Atlanta United’s midfield.

“It looks like a lot of talent in the group this year, which is very nice to see,” he says. “I just want to come in and help the best I can and improve the team even more.”

As the season goes on, Hyndman finds himself in the role that Martínez was for him: passing on advice on to other teammates. A few players on the first team are hit with season-ending injuries. Midfielder Ozzie Alonso tore his ACL during Atlanta United’s match against D.C. United on April 2, the same injury as Hyndman. Goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira ruptured an Achilles tendon. His injury occurred at training, also like Hyndman.

“Now I know what it’s like to go through that, so I’ve told both of them that if they have any questions, I can always try to help best I can,” Hyndman says. “You never want to see it, but at the end of the day, we’ll always be there for them and as a group, we’ll be behind them.”

Hyndman’s goals for the season are a little more indeterminate. He’s kind to himself, knowing that he’s still making his way back to form. First on his list: he wants to build back to being 90 minutes fit. He wants to be a factor for the team. He wants to help Atlanta United win.

“I just want to get into the games, help the team out, whatever minutes I'm given,” he says.

Sometimes, players struggle with the mental component of a serious injury. Maybe the injury lingers in the back of their minds. Maybe they doubt themselves. Can my body do that? Can I go 100% there? Can I stretch myself more? Can I push a little harder?