This time last year Macarthur midfielder Jake Hollman was lying in bed wondering if his hopes of making it to the top had gone up in smoke.
Hollman seemed destined for stardom after featuring in a Young Socceroos side which won the Asian under 19s championship in 2019.
His appearances in the Y-League with Sydney FC meant he was a target for most clubs before he agreed a move to Macarthur.
Then, 12 months ago, he contracted glandular fever and his world came tumbling down.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy," Hollman told AAP ahead of Saturday's meeting with Newcastle in the A-League Men.
"It happened overnight, I felt fine on the Friday and then woke up on Saturday thinking, 'Holy s**t' I've been hit by a truck.
"I was in bed 22 hours a day and I'd feel so disgusting. When I would get up to shower I'd want to collapse.
"I went on a 200m walk about eight weeks in and I felt like I'd run a marathon.
"When I'd make progress I'd encounter setbacks and I'd get humbled very quickly.
"Football was nowhere in my thinking, you don't envisage it when you're that sick.
"There were stages where I was like 'I don't deserve this, the world's against me'."
The flyweight midfielder lost 8kg and spent the next few months living in his parents' basement so his mother, Samantha and father Stuart, didn't get contaminated.
The 21-year-old missed the start of this season after contracting the illness again.
The setbacks were made all the more difficult by the fact his contemporaries at club and international level - such as Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio - were flying.
"Your body fights back but it can come back due to stress and fatigue - but there are no antibiotics to stop it," he said.
"I was touted to be a promising prospect and then when I wanted to get going I got ill.
"I was seeing my ex-teammates playing in the A-League and getting hype.
"I was like that could've been me, they were kicking on and I was barely able to watch a game because I'd get so tired."
Hollman is finally back at full tilt, that 200m walk a distant memory as he holds his own in Macarthur's midfield.
If he can avoid a third bout he will play a key part in their bid to make the top six under new boss Mile Sterjovski.
"Our team, on paper, is very good," Hollman said.
"It's just about us getting the consistency we want for as long as possible.
"I think if we can do that then we'll be pushing for finals for sure."
