Ex-Portsmouth, Charlton and Bristol Rovers man Tareiq Holmes-Dennis: Fratton Park surface devastated my career - I was never the same player again

Besides, that niggling issue had subsided when League One newcomers Pompey secured a season-long loan for the talented defender.

Approaching the age of 22, he arrived on the south coast armed with 76 career appearances, an immaculate availability record and clean bill of health.

On the occasion of his Blues debut, Holmes-Dennis sustained the first injury of his career. The pivotal date was August 5, 2017.

He would never fully recover from that damage to his left knee. Last week, the former England under-18 international announced his retirement.

The moment which devastated a highly-promising career appeared trivial, nothing more innocuous than slipping on the artificial surface surrounding the Fratton Park pitch.

Eventually forced off in the 39th minute against Rochdale, the ex-Charlton man would be diagnosed with a chondral defect and meniscus tear to his knee.

As a consequence, little more than three years later, following three operations and just 30 more appearances, Holmes-Dennis’ football career was over.

He told The News: ‘Fans will say “He’s a good player, but injury prone”. I actually wasn’t, I really wasn’t. I had one bad injury – and it affected me horrifically.

‘I had never before suffered any problems which kept me out. There was tendonitis in my knees for a while, which was uncomfortable, but I learnt to manage that.

‘It never affected my football, I didn’t miss any games. Funnily enough, it was gone by the time I got to Pompey.

‘I had just experienced the best season of my life at Huddersfield. The level of training there was unbelievable and such a great group. We were tipped to be relegated and won promotion to the Premier League.

‘I didn’t play as much as I would have liked, with 15 appearances that season, but that was the most I ever learnt in one year in football.

‘Coming to Pompey, my aim was to get myself 45 games and see where my career would head. Even if I was asked to fill the big shoes of Enda Stevens!

‘During that 2017 pre-season, I honestly felt it was the best football I’d played in a long time, I was incredibly excited for the campaign.

‘Then, early on my debut, the ball was just about to go out of play in front of the South stand. I attempted to stop it and bumped against one of their players. That's when it happened.

‘I wasn’t balanced, my left foot caught in the Astroturf, I stumbled, fell to the floor and got straight back up. There was a click. It wasn’t massively painful, just odd.

‘I carried on playing, yet it started to hurt more. Well, nobody wants to come off 20 minutes into their Fratton Park debut, so I went to the bench and got painkillers before continuing.

‘Then I went into a block tackle. When I got up, I couldn't put pressure on my left leg. The rest is history, as they say.

‘The injury to my knee was all cartilage-based. Had it been ligament damage or an ACL then I would have stood a chance at recovering.

‘Following the first scan, I thought I’d be out for 3-4 months. When they went inside the knee and saw the amount of damage, the specialist told me I was looking between 6-9 months.

‘It turned into 16 months. Originally they repaired the meniscus, on my second operation they removed the meniscus.

‘I genuinely believe the Astroturf around the Fratton Park pitch played a big factor. The way my foot landed on it wasn’t natural.

‘There wasn’t enough give in the surface, it was too hard. On grass I probably would have slid.

‘Considering how fast football is played and the speed people run at, it’s not safe going from one type of surface to another. An injury like mine should be enough to show that.

‘I don’t believe I was anywhere near the same player after that.’

Although ruled out for the remainder of the 2017-18, Holmes-Dennis’ rehabilitation was initially encouraging.

Following six months, discussions were held over a surprise return to Fratton Park, with Pompey still paying his wages under terms of the season-long loan.

Having increased the intensity of training at parent club Huddersfield, such optimism was dashed when the left-back experienced pain on the outside of his knee, requiring a second operation.

In July 2018 and now fully fit, Holmes-Dennis returned to action, albeit with Pompey’s League One rivals Bristol Rovers after joining for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal.

He added: ‘After that injury at Pompey there were times in matches when I’d do something and think “I’ve still got it”. However, the explosiveness of my game was completely gone.

‘That’s a big, big part of how I played football. Nothing had changed in terms of my technique and how I could handle a football, but my athleticism and in terms of being nimble and agile, I was ruined.

‘The Bristol Rovers fans probably saw glimpses of my ability and what I could have done, but definitely didn't get to see the full package. I don't believe many people did, I never reached my potential on a consistent level.

‘In my first training session with Rovers, I felt my knee again. I was back rehabbing for another 3-4 months. That was a dark, dark time.

‘I finally made my debut in November 2018, but wasn’t even fit.

‘After starting a match for the under-23s on a Tuesday, I felt okay. Afterwards, the manager, Darrell Clarke, asked if I was okay to play on the Saturday?

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‘I wasn’t going to say no. I’d missed 16 months, I just wanted to play. I probably shouldn't have, but was hungry to get back out there.

‘I started 18 of the last 25 league matches of that season, but, because of the intensity of the Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday schedule, my knee couldn’t tolerate it. I was playing in pain, the knee was swelling, so I took tablets – anti-inflammatories and painkillers – to let me play.

‘I was aged 22 at the time and, even away from football, walking became an issue. I couldn’t go food shopping with my missus, the knee might swell up and I would be struggling.

‘I was thinking “I’m going to be fine, it’s going to get right”. Even if I was training and in pain, at least I was still training. But it wasn’t right.

‘You have to remember that I was young. It’s hard for managers to comprehend how somebody who looks like a fit lad could play just two or three times a week. To them it didn’t make sense – “You should be out there”.

‘If I’d had the same knee as everyone else in that team, it wouldn’t have been a conversation.

‘I had my third operation on the knee in the summer of 2019. The specialist told me I’d be lucky to get 2-3 years out of it. He recommended I packed football in immediately to keep the knee as healthy as possible in the future.

‘That was never an option. I carried on trying and returned again that November.

‘By that stage the team were training on Astroturf three or four times a week. I tried to join them, but the knee reacted.

‘It was either train on the Astroturf or don’t play. I just couldn’t – my opportunities were pretty sparse after that.’

Holmes-Dennis totalled 178 minutes in League One during the 2019-20 campaign.

He admits his summer 2020 release was anticipated. In two seasons at the Memorial Stadium, the left-back made 30 appearances and scored once.

The 24-year-old was handed a trial at former club Charlton. However, on his second day, the problematic left knee flared up once more. There were to be no more comebacks.

Last Sunday night, Holmes-Dennis announced his retirement from football via Instagram, with Pompey supporters among the many well wishers.

The Fratton faithful still fondly recall a four-game pre-season introduction when a loanee left-back’s swashbuckling raids tantalisingly suggested an exciting talent had arrived.

Then came Holmes-Dennis’ competitive Blues debut.

He said: ‘Right now I haven’t trained in five or six weeks, my knee is in a horrific place.

‘Following the latest scan, I was told that damage to the cartilage was irreparable. Any operation they could offer wasn’t getting me back into professional football.

‘Looking back, I’ve made some friends for life, I’ve played in games of huge importance, I’ve appeared in two play-off campaigns, won promotion to the Premier League, and my family have watched me perform the sport I love.

‘I'm going to look at it as a blessing as opposed to the curse I would later experience. I believe I should be thankful for the opportunity and know I can hold my head up high. I worked hard and did all I could to come back.

‘There are ideas of what I want to do next, but I’m going to keep them to myself until I can put them into place.

‘Perhaps I can play semi-pro? Not playing ever again would be impossible for me, I’d love to get to a place where I can train a couple of times a week and then play on the Saturday.

‘Whatever I do, it will be with as much effort as I put into football. I just want fulfilment.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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