Ciaran McLoughlin
Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin has released Unseen Journey, a new documentary series charting his rehabilitation from an ACL injury - read Ciaran McLoughlin's review after it premiered on Wednesday.
Bellerin suffered a serious knee injury during a Premier League game with Chelsea two seasons ago.
Facing a long spell on the sidelines, he decided to record his journey back to full fitness - giving Arsenal supporters a behind-the-scenes look at the highs and lows he encountered during his lengthy recovery.
The nine-part series, available on his YouTube and Facebook channels now, follows Bellerin over an 18-month spell.
As well as an extensive look at some of the physical and mental barriers he had to overcome, the documentary also features interviews with Arsenal teammates Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney.
"When we started, I wanted to give a better insight into the ups and downs of professional sport, giving an honest reflection of what athletes face when going through injury rehabilitation and recovery," Bellerin said.
"Unseen Journey shows some of the toughest moments of my life, both physically and mentally, but I can look back now and be grateful to everyone that helped me through the whole process, a process which has developed me as a professional and as a person.
"I really hope The Unseen Journey will be able to inspire others and show that with the right mindset and team around you, anything is possible."
........................
Read Ciaran McLoughlin's review for the Gooner
Often, we think we know all about our favourite football players, but there is much more to them that we don’t really know.
Fly on the wall series, such as the one from our great rivals Tottenham, provides access into the day-to-day activities of a football club - but much of what we see can’t always be trusted as authentic.
That is why the eight-part documentary series released by Hector Bellerin has been something completely different for Arsenal and all football fans alike to witness.
Telling the inside story of his horrific ACL injury, talking us through each step, Bellerin gives us access all areas to his life during his time on the side lines, seeing footage which normally would never be seen.
As well as being followed by a camera during each event, we are given real insight into the deeper thoughts and feelings of Bellerin, which are rarely conveyed by professional athletes in the public eye.
Bellerin is known already as an honest role model and this series just emphasises it, with the right-back continuously finding the positives in every situation, smiling throughout, despite the setbacks.
As well as this we get an in depth look into all the people who played a role in keeping that smile maintained, whether they are his family, team mates or even club doctors.
This mini series is a fantastic watch which brilliantly captures the true perception of the struggles and steps undertaken in overcoming a serious injury, which many viewers would never have fully appreciated, but upon viewing would instantly feel full of sympathy for how difficult it really is and be inspired by just how well Bellerin dealt with it.
................
