Clayton Lewis (left) didn't expect to be fit for the All Whites. Photo / Photosport
Clayton Lewis had given up on his dream of being involved in another Fifa World Cup intercontinental playoff.
The Wellington Phoenix midfielder was in an ambulance – being pumped full of morphine to numb the pain in his ankle – as his teammates celebrated a last-gasp win against Perth Glory on March 26.
Lewis had been involved in a nasty collision, with his ankle giving way, and was prone on the turf for a prolonged period as the medical teams assessed him.
"I've not felt pain like that - but it was my first proper injury," Lewis told the Herald.
"Everyone was very cautious and no one wanted to move me that much."
Lewis was eventually carted off, able to farewell his teammates just after the final whistle, before going to hospital. Later that evening, reality began to sink in.
"I guess I thought that was it," said Lewis. "For those first two or three days it was me thinking the rest of the [club] season done, the intercontinental playoff done."
But an x-ray showed no break, before a subsequent MRI scan revealed the damage wasn't as bad as everyone had thought.
Lewis set a target of being back in six to eight weeks and made it in five, with relatively few setbacks.
"I've very happy to be back in the mix," said Lewis.
It's not the first time Lewis has defied the odds in this World Cup cycle. He took another difficult phone call when Danny Hay selected his first 23-man squad to face Ireland and Lithuania in November 2019, with others preferred.
Lewis had ended his difficult time at Scunthorpe a few months earlier (23 games, including only four league starts, across two seasons) and was rebuilding his career at national league level.
"I wasn't playing much," said Lewis. "I understood where he was coming from."
But it was still tough, given his prominence under former coach Anthony Hudson. After making his debut against South Korea in March 2015, Lewis featured in most big games, including two matches at the 2017 Confederations Cup (he was outstanding in the 2-1 defeat to Mexico) and the intercontinental series against Peru. He had accumulated 15 caps by the age of 21.
But Lewis fought his way back, establishing himself at the Wellington Phoenix as an effective deep-lying midfielder with an eye for a pass.
Last year's Olympic campaign was vital, as Lewis was in camp for six weeks and featured in four matches, including all 120 minutes of the quarter-final against Japan.
"That was massive," said Lewis. "Learning the way we wanted to play."
The 25-year-old has been in Marbella since May 23, part of the first group to arrive, with a singular focus.
"I need to get my fitness up as much as I can," said Lewis. "I have only played 120 minutes in 2 months. They know what I can do on the ball - most people have seen that now, it's just can I get that fitness back to where it was and hopefully put myself in contention for that game?"
If he does take the field against Costa Rica on June 15, he'll be prepared.
Lewis is one of six survivors from the XI that started in Lima in 2017 and vividly remembers the magnitude of the occasion, with so much on the line.
"It was definitely the biggest game of my career," said Lewis. "I was pretty nervous before that game and hopefully I can take that into this game and embrace the whole moment, realise what we are here to do and we need to make sure we are at it."
Like many others, Lewis has also been struck by the potential of the current crop.
"There is a lot less experience but the technical ability of this squad is something we can look forward to seeing," said Lewis. "The way we have been playing recently has put us in a good place."