The Reds Under-18s captain during his time with the Academy, the 29-year-old now plies his trade in non-league and was most recently in the books of Marine.
On Saturday 22 June, the midfielder underwent long-awaited surgery on his ankle, and is hoping to return to action in September. However, while the end is in sight, he is now out of contract. “It’s been truly humbling, I’ve had so many positive messages,” Lussey exclusively told the ECHO about the support he has received from well-wishers. “I’ve had donations off people.
“It’s been truly humbling, the response I’ve had from it. I’ve put a video out on my social channels just to thank everybody, and I will be documenting my journey as well. “Somebody needs to take accountability of semi-pro footballers that are injured, whether that’s the FA stepping in to help or whether it’s the league. At the minute, semi-pro footballers are just getting hung out, left to dry with no help.
“And I’d probably say that about 70% of semi-pro footballers are actually on a non-contract as opposed to a contract, which means if they aren’t playing come the matchday, they don’t get paid. “To these big governing bodies, it’s not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. But to the lower clubs who can’t afford to help the players, even though they might want to.
“I ran onto a ball, tried to go inside and my ankle’s just given way,” he said recalling the moment he suffered his injury. “I knew straight away it was really bad. “I’ve not had any contact from any clubs as of yet. My full focus at the minute is to try and get back on the pitch as quickly as possible, and I’m aiming to do that relatively quickly. Hopefully be back, ready to go sort of September-time.
“That’s how I’m trying to stay positive with it, even though I’m in a lot of pain and I’m non-weight bearing for the next couple of weeks, but I am closer to being back on the pitch than I was a week ago when I was fully mobile, walking around. “You have insurance in place so that if you do pick up a nasty injury, you’re covered. The insurance I’ve got covers fractures, breaks, dislocations and ligament tears. But the more I read into it, the only ligament tears it actually covers is knee ligaments as opposed to ankle ligaments.