Dominic Johns: I will be Back

In the final match of the 2023-24 season of the Hong Kong Premier League, HKFC winger Dominic Johns suffered a severe injury after being tackled with a two-footed challenge by North District defender Ho Chun-ho, resulting in a serious fracture in his right leg. This Australian winger has faced significant injuries twice in his football career, but he remains determined to return to the field and hopes to shine again on the Hong Kong Premier League stage.

As a child, Johns participated in various sports, including cricket, rugby, and Australian rules football, but soon realized that his greatest interest lay in football, aspiring to become a professional player. Having lived in Macau, he was involved with Benfica in the Australian league. Upon returning to Australia, he trained with different teams, and during high school, he briefly trained with A-League powerhouse Central Coast Mariners, although he did not get the opportunity to play for their youth team.

At 17, he joined the local semi-professional team NWS Spirit, which competes in the second-tier New South Wales NPL league: “Although all the teams are nominally semi-professional, the training facilities, competition levels, and even salaries may be comparable to or even better than those of mid to lower-tier teams in the Hong Kong Premier League, so it is not an easy competition to handle.”

However, after playing less than ten matches, he suffered a severe injury to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which took a full year to recover from. Following that, the league was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it resumed, he had limited playing time: “But I still wanted to continue my football career, so I began exploring different places. Since my mother was born in Hong Kong and I had lived in Macau, Hong Kong became my choice. Moreover, there have been successful Australian players developing in Hong Kong, like Jared Lum, who played in the NPL, so I decided to come to Hong Kong and give it a try.”

Not looking back

In the summer of 2023, Dominic Johns bought a one-way ticket to Hong Kong without even getting a trial opportunity. He reached out to different teams via LinkedIn, and eventually, Eastern gave him a chance to train with them, and he also joined the team for a training camp in the North: “At that time, I felt good, and the coaching staff affirmed my performance. However, in early August, Rodrigue’s ACL injury required long-term recovery, disrupting the club’s plans. They needed to look for another foreign forward, and ultimately, due to limited foreign player spots, I couldn’t sign with Eastern.”

“By then, preparations for the season were already underway. Eastern’s coach, Chino, hoped I could continue participating in the Hong Kong Premier League, so he helped me inquire about other teams. Eventually, after training with HKFC and participating in a friendly match, I signed with them. At that time, I was told that HKFC was somewhat different from other teams. I didn’t know the specifics, but for me, as long as I had the opportunity to participate in the Premier League, I would want to try it.”

He played 21 matches for HkFC, scoring 5 goals and providing 5 assists, marking a solid first season in the Premier League. He thought he could showcase his abilities further, but during the league match against North District, he was tackled by defender Ho Chun-ho, suffering a complete fracture of his right tibia and fibula. He was immediately taken to the emergency room: “The pain was something I had never experienced in my life… For the three nights before the surgery, I couldn’t sleep due to the pain. The doctor looked at the X-rays and thought I had been in a car accident; it didn’t look like an injury from playing football.”

Three days after the incident, Johns underwent his first surgery at a private hospital, attempting to fix the injury with a steel plate. He continued to experience severe pain, requiring large amounts of pain medication, and it took two weeks for the pain to slightly ease. However, the surgery was not successful. Different medical opinions offered various insights, and following the advice of an Australian doctor, he decided to return to Australia to undergo another surgery six weeks after the injury. Unfortunately, the local doctors discovered an infection in the wound, so they removed the steel plate and could not perform the fixation surgery immediately. They needed to control the infection with medication and planned for surgery again in November.

Currently, there are no guarantees that a doctor will be present at Hong Kong Premier League matches, and ambulances may not always be on standby. Fortunately, since Johns was playing for Hong Kong FC and the injury occurred at their venue, he had immediate medical attention from the team doctor. The club continued to provide support afterward, including physical therapy during his stay in Hong Kong, visa assistance, and access to club facilities.

“After the incident, many Premier League teams reached out to express their condolences and see how they could help, except for North District. As for the Football Association, they haven’t been in contact yet.”

左：莊文歷受傷後甚為痛楚中：脛骨、腓骨同告骨折右：除了要使拐杖行路，傷口亦有感染（受訪者提供）

Living with pain

The player who injured Johns, Ho Chun-ho, reached out on the day of the incident through other HKFC players to apologize and even offered to visit him in the hospital. However, Johns was feeling very down at the time and felt it wasn’t the right moment to meet, so he politely declined. He emphasized that he doesn’t harbor any resentment: “I have no hard feelings towards North District or Ho Chun-ho. I know he didn’t do it on purpose; it was an accident. That’s football.”

For the past five months, Johns has been living with pain, becoming accustomed to coexisting with it and using crutches to walk. In August, he chose to return to Hong Kong to pursue another profession, working as a digital media editor for HKFC while also taking on other filming jobs. He wanted to be there for his girlfriend, who was working and playing football in Hong Kong, while also needing to maintain his livelihood.

During this time, he occasionally attended Premier League matches, but aside from the season opener against Rangers, he hasn’t gone to any more games: “It doesn’t feel good. I really want to be part of it, not just a spectator. Of course, I know I won’t be back on the field anytime soon, so I hope the surgery goes well, and I can walk again in a month, then gradually start training again. When that time comes, I will train harder than anyone else, hoping to return to the field for the 2025-26 season.”

Having faced a significant injury for the second time in his football career, Johns is determined to return to the field: “HKFC has said that as long as I’m ready, I’m always welcome to rejoin. If by then, there’s no spot for me in the Premier League, I hope to at least continue developing in Southeast Asia. However, I really want to restart in the Premier League, especially since my first season wasn’t too bad. I still feel there are things left unfinished. My family has never pressured me; they have their opinions, but they know I will never give up on football.”

“At first, I did think my football career might be over, but after the second surgery, I’m confident I can step onto the field again. Of course, it depends on my recovery progress, and I will need to train hard afterward. But nothing in this world can stop me from continuing to play football.”