Motherwell player John Koutroumbis has reflected on how he wanted to “stay strong” for his family after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 27-year-old, who moved to Fir Park from A-League side Perth Glory in the summer, received the life-changing news seven years ago while playing for Newcastle Jets in his native Australia.
After finding a lump on his neck, the right-back, who was aged 20 at the time, visited a specialist who informed him it was stage one thyroid cancer.
Looking back he says the “daunting” experience was a “learning curve” and revealed how he considers himself “one of the lucky ones”.
He said: “As a 20-year-old, as I’m sure everyone does, you think you are invincible, then one morning I woke up with a lump at the back of my neck.
“I wasn’t thinking too much of it, because I’d never experienced anything like that before, I just went about my day as normal and we had a trial match against one of the local teams.
“I played the game and I was awful, awful on the ball, felt awful.
“The next Monday, I saw a specialist and he took a biopsy, then ten days later, from that, I was in surgery.
“Two days before surgery, I was told it was cancer. Luckily enough, it was stage one thyroid cancer so I consider myself one of the lucky ones.
“It was very daunting, I had my mum with me when I was told. It was a bit of a blur at that stage as I wanted to stay strong for my family.
“Because as parents, brothers, and sisters, you never want to hear that one of your immediate family has cancer or anything like that.
“So I was probably the strongest one at that stage, then two to three years later, maybe even one, when you’re reflecting back on it, it was quite a daunting experience and something that not many people go through.
“I actually find it very humbling, I was very humbled at a young age.
“It was a learning curve, I learned a lot about myself, and I learned a lot about the people I have around me who love and support me.”
Koutroumbis has made five appearances for the Steelmen this season, including 70 minutes in the draw with Hearts in their last game.
Reflecting on his first season in Scotland after what he described as a “dream” move to Europe, he added: “The bigger picture is, it’s not the end of the world with a small injury.
“If you’re not selected for the team or if you’re having an argument with the coach or another player, it’s really not the end of the world. There’s more to it than football at the end of the day.
“Even though football is our life, you’ve got to look at things in a bigger perspective, in a bigger picture.
“Mentally, it’s challenging being away from family and friends. But you always have the love and support from people, even if they aren’t in person.”
Koutroumbis admits he is still adapting to the faster and more direct style of Scottish football after playing for four A-League teams, but he is happy to continue playing in Wimmer’s three-man central defence.
“I actually only played right-back the last two years of my career,” he said. “Prior to that, I was on the right-hand side of the back three from 18 to 24 years old.”
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
