AFC Bournemouth
He may have driven more than 500 miles. He may have waited almost three years.
But for Matt Butcher, it was a game he will not forget in a hurry.
The significance of his third appearance for his latest loan club St Johnstone was probably lost on those outside Butcher’s circle of family and close friends.
His start in Saints’ 1-1 draw with Scottish Premiership rivals Ross County on Saturday was his first in a competitive first-team game since 14th April 2017 – some 36 months.
During that time, Butcher suffered some rotten luck with injuries, including spending a year out with a hip problem and another six months with knee ligament damage.
The enforced absences severely hampered the progress of the Portsmouth-born midfielder, who made his debut for the Cherries as an 18-year-old in the League Cup at Hartlepool in August 2015, Butcher coming off the bench in a 4-0 win at Victoria Park.
Butcher also played the full 90 minutes of the club’s FA Cup third-round win at Birmingham in January 2016 and was a fully-fledged member of Eddie Howe’s first-team squad at Vitality Stadium.
He enjoyed a fruitful loan spell in the National League with Woking and spent the 2016/17 campaign in League Two with Yeovil where his Football League debut was the first of 42 appearances in all competitions for the Glovers.
Having returned from his knee problem in January and featured for the Cherries in their Premier League Cup win against Nottingham Forest, Butcher moved north of the border on deadline day and is hoping to get his career firmly back on track during his stay with the Perthshire club.
“It’s certainly a long way from home!” laughed the 22-year-old, speaking to afcb.co.uk. “When I first came up, I drove and it took me a couple of days to get here.
“But the excitement of playing has overridden everything else. For my family and my girlfriend, it’s just a short flight so it’s not too bad. It was just getting here in the first place which took me so long.”
Butcher made substitute appearances in draws against Hearts and Motherwell before getting the nod to start against Ross County who netted their injury-time leveller after he had made way.
Having made a sluggish start to the season, Saints have lost just two of their past 14 games in all competitions and host Rangers in the league on Sunday before entertaining Celtic in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on March 1st.
Butcher added: “My main priority when I returned from the knee injury was to get fit and put myself in a position where I could go out and play games.
"The next thing was to see which clubs fitted best and what opportunities they would offer. St Johnstone was the best one.
“It was a little farther than some of the other clubs but I couldn’t wait to get here. It’s a great league and we get to play some top teams. It was something I couldn’t turn down.
“I feel as though I’ve done well when I’ve played. I just hope I can stay in the team now. We are doing quite well at the moment so it made it easier coming here with the team on a good run.
“I didn’t know too much about Scottish football before I came here. I’d watched a few games and when things started progressing with me, I started to watch it a bit more closely.
“I spoke to our lads who had been here on loan and they said it was good. It’s a great opportunity and I knew it was a good level.
“I came here to get minutes and wanted to do that as quickly as possible because it’s no secret I haven’t played loads of football.
“We worked on shape in the lead up to the Ross County game but I wasn’t too sure whether I would be starting. But you have to prepare for every game as if you are.
“I was buzzing to get on the pitch again, it was more excitement than anything else. You can’t beat that feeling of running out on a Saturday and playing and it’s something I missed for a couple of seasons.
“It’s just a shame the next game is in a week’s time because I can’t wait to play again.
“I didn’t know the exact date of when my last start was but I knew it had been a long time. I knew it was in the 2016/17 season and it had been playing on my mind. When you’re injured, you miss playing and it’s frustrating.
“I tried to come back from the hip injury without surgery but it wasn’t possible. I tried to rehab it because it’s not ideal to jump into having an operation straightaway.
“Once I had recovered from that, I thought that would be the end of it.
“I came back for pre-season and played all the minutes I could. I got through the hardest bit of pre-season and then we had a session on the morning of the Sheffield United game and I hurt my knee.
“That was the hardest one to take because of the shock and I didn’t see it coming. Overnight, your mindset has to completely change because you are facing more time on the sidelines.”
Butcher, who was on the bench for the Cherries’ final Premier League game of last season at Crystal Palace, is hoping his troubles are behind him.
He said: “I’m doing everything I can to keep my body fresh and recovering well. I’m just trying to give myself the best chance possible to stay fit.
“I know nothing’s guaranteed so I have to take every day as it comes and every game the same. I feel good at the moment so that’s all I can ask. Hopefully, it continues that way.
“We’ve got two massive games coming up against the top two teams in the country who are fighting for the title. If I keep my place, it will be great to test myself against some top players.”
Discussing his new surroundings, Butcher said: “It’s a really nice area. A few of the lads live in Perth which is where the club is and a few live farther out. They have all been really good with me.
“A lot of them love their golf so I’m sure I’ll have a couple of rounds while I’m here. When the weather gets a bit better, I’m sure we’ll have a day out as a team.
“The town has got everything you need and the area is quite quiet. I’m ten minutes from the training ground so it’s perfect.”
I didn’t know the exact date of my last start but I knew it had been a long time
