Hilgers reflects on rare period after Heerenveen debut

Hilgers made his Heerenveen debut after 520 days out, following his exclusion from Twente's squad and a cruciate ligament injury.

Mees Hilgers returned to competitive action on Wednesday night, making his debut for SC Heerenveen in a cup tie against Excelsior Maassluis. The 25-year-old defender had not played an official match since May 2023, when he started in Twente's Europa League play-off final against AZ. After that campaign, Twente excluded him from their squad due to a contract dispute, and he subsequently suffered a cruciate ligament tear.

Heerenveen signed Hilgers in late August to rescue him from his situation at Twente. Coming off the bench in Maassluis, he finally got his first competitive minutes in a Heerenveen shirt. "It's been a very long time since I played an official match. I'm super happy to get minutes again," Hilgers told ESPN after the game.

The Indonesian international said he has recovered well from his injury and feels fit enough to play regularly. "I've come a long way in my recovery. I train really well, I'm in top shape, I feel good, and I'm ready to play every week," he said. "I've sat on the bench at home for a long time, watched football, had a lot of time to think. It wasn't nice to be sidelined for so long, but I'm very happy to have a new club and hopefully achieve good things here."