While envisioning the return
"Taking it slow and steady"
DF 50 Renta HIGASHI
A special content introducing all the blue and red warriors challenging the 2024 season. What are the players, who are about to start the season, thinking and what determination are they bringing into the year? The stories of the players, who hold in their hearts their love for the club, their thirst for titles, their aspirations for success, and the roles they must fulfill──. Renta HIGASHI is spending his days in rehabilitation. The 2023 season saw him achieve his long-cherished dream of turning professional, making his official match debut, and gaining experience through a loan transfer, but his career took an unexpected turn due to a serious injury. Before the season starts, he is forced into a situation where even jogging is not allowed. However, even in such adversity, we convey his thoughts as he continues to look forward, keeping his eyes on his return.
Despite achieving my long-cherished dream of turning professional, I can hardly run now. It's a cruel situation for a teenage football player to have to put kicking the ball on hold for a while.
"Not being able to kick the ball is really tough. But I think I will come to realize that what I used to take for granted is not actually a given."
In his first professional year last season, he only played in the 2nd Round of the Emperor's Cup match against Fukushima United FC in Tokyo, where he spent the first six months of the season. However, he said, "I felt the value of being able to play in that one match and the difference in my level of growth. That's why I decided to transfer," and sought a place to thrive on a developmental loan to SC Sagamihara in the J3 League.
In the new environment, he made a strong start by starting in three consecutive matches right after joining the team. However, after suffering an injury to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee that would require six weeks of recovery, he was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and damage to the lateral support structure of his left knee, which would take about ten months to heal right after his return.
(In Sagamihara) I was able to participate in the match and felt a sense of achievement. I was quite depressed and felt down for a while. The post-surgery hospitalization also took a toll on my mental state. However, as days went by, I was able to switch my mindset. Now, I am somehow trying to stay positive. The biggest support for me was that my peer Yoshiki NARAHARA (from Sagan Tosu) suffered the same injury at the same time, and we were able to encourage each other by staying in touch and saying, 'Let's do our best together.'
I am not even allowed to jog yet. Still, I hold back my sighs and try to relearn soccer during this time, focusing on raising my soccer IQ and facing what I can only do now, aiming for improvement off the pitch. In the midst of daily strength training and building a body that won't get injured, envisioning my vision after returning has become my greatest motivation.
"The best scenario is to return during this season and be involved in matches. Even if that doesn't happen, I want to be in the best condition for next season and beyond. I'm still in a situation where I can't even jog, but I'm in the process of regaining strength in my upper and lower body. I'm currently viewing the fact that I'm gradually able to do more things positively."
He is a player who is good at slipping into the pocket. He has been cherished by many seniors. This lovable defender is passionate about the rolling ball. The high purity of his dedication will surely elevate the joy of his return. For now, he is reminding himself to take it slow and steady.
text by Kohei Baba (Freelance Writer)
