Hibs Exclusive: 'Being unable to help team hurt as much as any injury.'

Striker thought he’d be out for two weeks, not two months, with ankle twist

Frustration released - Vente smashes the ball home to make it 3-0 to Hibs in Perth on Saturday.

Dylan Vente is NOT a good spectator at the best of times. So being left sitting high in the stands or slumped on the bench, unable to contribute as his team’s season fell apart, was akin to torture for a striker who marked his return to action with a goal last weekend – eight weeks on from his previous appearance for Hibs.

An innocuous ankle twist sustained in training, an incident that caused no great concern for a 24-year-old whose injury record had been blemish-free up to that point, left Vente on the sidelines as Nick Montgomery’s men fell short in their bid to reach the Scottish Premiership top six. Failure to take chances was very much a feature for Hibs in their final two pre-split fixtures, especially, with dominant performances in a home loss to St Johnstone and away draw with Motherwell exposing flaws at both ends of the park.

Vente, who scored within minutes of being introduced as a substitute in Saturday’s 3-1 away win over the same Saints side who had mugged his team-mates at Easter Road a few weeks earlier, admitted: “When you are on the pitch, you don’t feel the tension or the nerves. You are far more nervous watching. When you are on the pitch, you just go with flow.

“But like watching us lose to St Johnstone at home, Motherwell away – when I was on the bench – it really hurts, being able to do nothing. It’s much easier being out there and able to contribute.

“This was my first real injury, ever. A long time out for me. And it was frustrating, definitely, to be stuck inside and not able to play.

“Especially when everyone know the club had such important games, with what we were playing for in the season. It was hard to watch when I could do nothing. So I’m happy to be back - but would rather have been back in time for those big games.”

Revealing more details of the training-ground accident that left him out of action for the best part of two months, Vente admitted: “When it happened in training, I was honestly hoping I would be out for one or two days.

“It didn’t feel so bad. But then I had the scan, with the doctors telling me it would be four weeks. And it was even longer than that in the end, over seven weeks.

“I just tried a shot and my ankle sort of twisted. It wasn’t that serious - I thought.

WATCH THE LATEST FITBAW TALK HERE

“It felt great to be out there against St Johnstone. It’s been a long time since I played. It was good to be back, better to score – and best of all to get a win.

“When the ball came through to me, I was same as always. I am always relaxed and calm in that situation. I didn’t think too much – that’s important as a striker.

“I think in those situations the important thing is to remain calm. Then you look at where the keeper is and finish in the best place. It was a good finish, I think – and a really good ball from Josh Campbell.”

Vente, a summer signing by Lee Johnson but identified as a key player by Montgomery as soon as the new man took over in September, knows there is going to be more change in the close season to come. With eight goals to his name since making the leap from the Dutch second division to Scotland’s elite league, the former RKC Waalwijk forward believes there is better to come now that he’s adapted to a very different footballing environment.

“Yeah, I think in the second half of the season I played more as a striker,’ he said, the ex-Feyenoord prospect adding: “I think I had a little good run before the injury, too. Not great but I played well, I felt more confident – and then the injury played.

“So the one job now is to be even better. That’s what I’m hoping for. And to win all the games.

“For now, we just have to focus on those four games. You can’t look forward to next season yet because you don’t know what’s going to happen, what players we’ll have. You can think, think, think about that and get distracted – that’s not the right thing.

“My focus is on the four games left. Scoring goals. And winning games.”

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the top six, and the uproar prompted by that failure, Vente didn’t hesitate when asked if he would recommend Hibs to any of the potential recruits likely to be targeted in a busy summer, insisting: “That’s easy. It’s a big club, Hibs. A good fan base. Normally, we should be in the top six. This year was disappointing because we didn’t get there – we let ourselves down.

“But everyone knows Hibs is a big club – and there is a lot of potential. We are trying to play good football. If everything comes together, we can improve a lot next season.”