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The 24-year old midfielder is raring to make his comeback after more than 5 months out
130 days since his injury, we spoke to Joel Chew over a game of EAFC24 at Kommune by 82Soho.
A forgettable night in China
26 March 2024 – It was a tough, cold night in Tianjin for the Lions as they succumbed to a 4-1 loss away to China in the World Cup Qualifiers. While the scoreline was a painful one to swallow, it was much more cruel for one individual.
Chasing the game at 2-1 down, Singapore Head Coach Tsutomou Ogura, in his second game in charge, called upon Joel Chew in the 76th minute, replacing Harhys Stewart. But just 3 minutes later, the BG Tampines midfielder was on the receiving end of a reckless challenge from China’s Li Yuanyi, who then received the marching orders for that tackle.
Exhausting all 5 substitutions already, the Lions had to play the remaining game with 10 man as well, and they eventually crumbled to a harsh defeat.
“I just knew I felt a crack when he tackled me, so I knew it wasn’t something to be taken lightly”. His suspicion was right, as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) later confirmed that he had suffered a right midshaft fracture.
Sidelined for the first time
It was the 24-year old’s first major injury in his career – a small setback which he will be eager to put behind. “It just felt like the whole world was crashing,” he described.
ℹ️ INJURY UPDATE@TRFCStags’s Joel Chew has sustained a right mid shaft fracture of the fibula while @lioncitysailors’s Zulqarnaen Suzliman has sustained an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.
— FAS (@FASingapore) March 29, 2024
Sending our best wishes to both as they embark on the road to recovery 💪 pic.twitter.com/2JQiUdV5WD
Reflecting on the episode, he conceded that he may have taken things for granted previously.
“Because you’re a footballer and you just always want to be able to play.. And you never knew how important it was to be injury-free before this.”
A psychological battle within
The ill-timed injury, just a month before the Singapore Premier League (SPL) season kicked off, affected him both physically and mentally.
“I think it’s more of a mental challenge than a physical challenge.. Some days you will be discouraged not to do the rehab, because you feel like it’s been very long or nothing is progressing the way you want it to.”
Looking back at his road to recovery, he is thankful for the support circle around him where his family, friends, team-mates and fans encouraged him in his 5 months absence from the pitch.
“Watching the team train and play games and not being to be part of it made me itching to get back as quick as i could as i just wanted to contribute and play the game that i love most again so i just kept thinking to myself that it’ll be worth it in the end”.
Back to familiar e-grounds
It may not be the actual return to the pitch yet, but Joel was definitely back on form when we squared off with him in a game of EAFC24 during this interview. It comes as no surprise, afterall, he represented Singapore in the Fifa20 Stay and Play Asian Series, an e-football tournament, back in 2020.
Like many football fans, he looks forward to the release of the new edition of the now-discontinued, FIFA game each year. From the days of the Playstation Portable (PSP), to taking turns playing against his cousin, Joel eventually got his own Xbox console as a gift from his mum when he turned 14.
However, his involvement in competitive ESports only started during the pandemic, where he would go around Twitter (now X) to play wager games for in-game coins and credits. He was then enticed by a free sign-up to join a LAN competition, where he came in third and was able to represent Singapore thereafter.
Fortunately or unfortunately, that was his one and only representation in ESports for Singapore. He shared that the scene in Singapore is becoming more competitive, where training and tournaments for it, like the actual sport, takes up hours and runs for days – which he has been unable to commit to since.
Football still takes priority
When asked to choose between the two forms of football, it was an easy decision for the Stag. While his endeavors into the Esports scene may be accidental, his passion and journey in football was by no means a coincidence.
His route to professional football traced way back to his time at the Canadian Pizza Football academy, where he was under coach Hasrin Jailani, from Tanjong Pagar. He then joined JSSL, and started boarding at the Singapore Sports School, before being part of the National Football Academy (NFA) setup.
“A lot of my base, like the fundamentals, were learnt from there (JSSL),” he said. The 2017 recipient of the Dollah Kassim Award, recalled his time at JSSL having the biggest impact on him.
It was also with JSSL when Joel was 18, played against Tampines – which Gavin Lee was a Under-21 coach back then for in a Cup final, where he was approached to sign by the club before the season ended.
Time is catching up
Living in Jurong since young, Joel had to travel from the West to the East for his training and matches. But that was probably the last thing he thought about when he signed a long-term contract with Tampines in 2022.
Alongside team-mate Shah Shahiran, Joel was the first of two Singaporean footballers ever, to sign a 5-year contract with a SPL club.
“They (Tampines) called me, Kygoa and Shah to have a meeting, I just thought it was just like a new contract extension or some sort… so at that time, I was very shocked when they told me what they were planning for the three of us”.
He did, however, had some reservations in his mind. “What if you have one really good season and you could have gone overseas to play (after)?”
But with all things considered, he still felt that was the best decision to make at that time and is something that he and his family still feel ‘proud and happy for’.
While local fans and coaches may have touted him as a ‘teen prodigy’ before and one to lookout for in the ‘next’ generation of Singapore football, that generation is already well upon us. Turning 25 next February, Joel acknowledges that he is not young anymore and needs to step up quickly to take his career further.
“Hopefully, with this injury, it doesn’t really affect my game that I used to play that much, or at all.”
This is Joel’s season
Gavin Lee’s side remains the only unbeaten team in the SPL so far this season and Joel hopes the Stags can maintain their momentum to conquer both the domestic league and the continental stage.
“Like last year, where I think we started off almost exactly the same, but we ended third in the end,” he recalled.
Referring to their title bid in 2023 which fizzled up, the team can now call upon a much deeper depth in the squad, thanks to the additional foreigner slot. And one of them who has impressed him, is former Albirex man – Seia Kunori.
“I think adding Seia to the team provides obviously more quality because you are not young player of the year for no reason.. I think he’s really proving to be a great addition for the club this year and for the team in general.
Joel is looking forward to playing in the ACL2 as well, having missed the Stags’ prior participation back in 2021.
“When we qualified for the ACL, I couldn’t be there (due to National Service), so that was something that I deeply missed out on and that’s why I’m so excited for this year”.
Ending our hour-long conversation and EAFC play session, he concluded it with an emphatic 6-0 win over us. And if that was a sign for better things to come, we can’t wait for what Joel has to offer when he returns to playing on the actual pitch.
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