'At 20, I felt invincible. Then I found a lump on my neck'

Motherwell defender Johnny Koutroumbis fought through thyroid cancer at the age of just 20

Striving to achieve his boyhood dream of becoming a footballer, 20-year-old Johnny Koutroumbis is playing a trial match against a local team in Newcastle, Australia.

At that age, he "felt invincible" - but something changed that day.

"I played the game and I was awful," the Motherwell defender recalls. "On the ball, awful. And I felt awful."

Earlier that morning, Koutroumbis had discovered a lump at the base of his neck.

"I didn't think too much of it," he says. "I'd never experienced anything like that before. I just went on about my day as normal."

Ten days later, he was undergoing surgery to remove stage one thyroid cancer.

'I class myself as one of the lucky ones'

Just two days before his procedure, and no more than a fortnight after finding the lump, Koutroumbis was informed of the news that would change his life.

His devastated mother was in the room with him.

From that point on, he made sure he was the "strongest one" in his family.

"It was a bit of a blur at that stage because I just wanted to stay strong for my family," the right-back says.

"As parents, brothers and sisters, you never want to hear one of your immediate family members has got cancer.

"I was probably the strongest one. Looking back years later, it was a daunting experience."

After a successful recovery, Koutroumbis has played more than 150 games in professional football across spells with Newcastle United Jets, Western Sydney Wanderers, Perth Glory and Motherwell.

He is now living his dream of playing in Europe, a dream that has been fuelled by the traumatic period he experienced seven years prior.

"I class myself as one of the lucky ones," the defender says.

"I learnt a lot about myself and I learnt a lot about the people around me who love and support me."

'You've got to look at the bigger picture'

Albeit a dream move, Koutroumbis' time in Scotland has been far from easy.

Shortly after penning a two-year contract at Motherwell following his exit from Perth Glory, he suffered a long-term injury in pre-season.

The right-back then failed to feature until October and has only played five times overall, starting just once.

That one start, at right-wing back, came in an impressive display away to Dundee United in manager Michael Wimmer's first match in charge.

And the Australian is set to be handed more opportunities following another positive performance on the right of the back three in the goalless draw with Hearts last time out.

But the "humbling experience" he endured throughout his cancer recovery means the 27-year-old will not be fazed by any potential set-backs.

"The bigger picture is it's not the end of the world if you have a small injury or if you're not selected for the team," he adds.

"There's more to life than football at the end of the day. Even though it is our life, you've got to look at things in a bigger picture."