It’s something you can’t really put a price on, the joy of being able to play football every week.
In the last few years, I’m not going to lie, there have been some hard times but also some very good ones.
Take this season for instance. While it’s good to be back playing at the moment, especially in the Premier League, it was actually a tough start to the season for me but things have changed quickly and to get an England call up in September, it’s what every boy dreams of.
It’s just really special for me and something I’m really proud of. You have to be doing something right with your club to get an international call for the senior squad, so long may that continue.
I was with the U21s previously in 2015 and that was such a big thing for me at the time. When I got that first call up, it was a shock at the time but it was great to be involved and meet everyone involved, like Gareth and Steve and then get a cap against Czech Republic.
I still remember going to the Euro Finals after that, back in Czech Republic in 2015, which was a great experience and getting a taste of international football in a tournament environment was fantastic. I learned a lot from it and took it away with me and returned to Fulham ready to really push on for the following season.
And that’s how it was looking. Just after those Euros, I signed a new contract with Fulham, we had a strong squad and I thought that was going to be my starting block and the first season when I would go full-out, play well and take off from there.
But they say things can change quickly in football and what has been the real low point of my career was right around the corner. I can still remember the moment now, although I wish I could forget it.
We were playing Hull City, in one of the first games of the season and there was a freak collision between me and my own team-mate Matt Smith.
It resulted in a really serious knee injury and it was a big setback at the time. But I knew it was something I had to get over and get through so I tried to prepare myself for what was a long process.
It was tough. You need to be mentally strong in that situation and know that you can’t rush things. The last thing you want to do is to rush things and have a setback, when six months out can easily turn into a year, which is the worst thing you can do.
So I knew from the start I had to take it slow. There were times when I knew that I wasn’t ready but the physios would tell me to keep going. Then there were times when I was towards the end of it all, doing running and goalkeeper training, when I thought I was ready again but the physios would tell me I still wasn’t ready and they were right.
It’s frustrating because you also know you’re not ready and you can’t do too much other than gym work, but when you look out of the window and see the boys training every day, you want to be out there and that is the hardest part.
Having an injury like that, I think it can help prepare you for the career ahead of you and you don’t ever want to be in that situation again. So it’s important to learn from that experience and I always say that to people now, turn it into a motivation and take something positive out of it.
Sometimes injuries happen in football and you can’t do anything about them, but you can also work hard in the gym and make sure you’re as fit and strong as possible and that’s what I’ve tried to do ever since.
To be honest, it’s only really since the back end of last season and this season where I feel I’ve kicked on and come into my own.
So it’s nice to be injury free and it’s important to stay fit when you want to try and get into England squads and over the last couple of months, I’ve been able to work my way back in which is something I never expected when I was a fan watching the World Cup last summer.
It’s amazing to now be a part of that same group. We’re a young squad and the boys are on the back of a terrific trip to the World Cup and hopefully I can stay around for a long time.
I’m really enjoying the experience, of course it’s an honour to be called up, but the main thing is to come and try to impress and do a job.
My aim is to just do the right thing and it’s great to work with the likes of Pickers, Alex and Jack and get some good coaching alongside Marge and train with the best players in England.
After the hard times of the last few years, I’m just glad to be out the other side and making the most of everything because it’s all helped me learn a lot and to made me really strong to get me in the position where I’m at right now.
England are back in action at Wembley next month, against USA on Thursday 15 November and then Croatia on Sunday 18 November.
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