HONEST HUGGINS
- BY LEWYS CARR
- Jul 14
- 2 min read

A fit again Niall Huggins has been chatting about his injury issues which have hampered his Sunderland career. Huggins joined the club in 2021 and despite looking a quality player when fit, has only managed 21 games for us since.
“It’s really underestimated how tough it is mentally. I had a good run of games, I thought I was going to take off from there, then it happens from nowhere and it's out of your control. It's been a tough road back, I've had so many ups and downs. I'm just appreciative to be back on the pitch and to be able to play football again. That's what I love to do. It’s hard trying to feel part of the squad. When you're out, you try and do as much as you can to be part of it, but sometimes it just feels impossible.”
“When you’re fit, there's no better feeling than winning games with your team-mates. It’s tough to get to the same level as everyone else when you don't feel like you've impacted that. That's the thing I’ve found tough, and I've worked with a lot of people on the mental side, just to try and help cope with it. Everyone around the club has been amazing, the lads have been amazing and I still enjoyed coming in every day. But it is a tough mental battle. It's the ups and downs, it's a roller-coaster, the highs and lows. But I've built up a lot of resilience. When you're out for a long time, you build a lot of resilience. Hopefully, I take that through life. Different challenges will come, but I know I've had some really tough times and I've got through them and come out the other end stronger.”
“I’ve always felt with Regis and Pedro (Ribeiro) that they've backed me. They weren't here when I was playing, but it's always felt like they knew what I could do and what type of player I am. He's (Le Bris) always come in and checked on me throughout the injury. For a manager, it must be hard to have that balance, but as a player, it's all you can ask for. He's done that all the way throughout and I'm massively appreciative of that. Now I get the chance to show what I can do.”
“I think things will build more and more through pre-season. I just came in (to the South Shields game) looking to enjoy myself. Before the game, I was putting too much pressure on, but speaking to my family and girlfriend, they just told me to enjoy myself. It’s what I love to do, and I haven't done it for a long time. This was just about enjoying myself, but as pre-season goes on, it will build to get back to where I was and where I want to be.”