Demetri Mitchell’s fashion label aided his recovery from a severe knee injury

Demetri Mitchell spent 364 days sidelined following surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Regarding his fashion label, Demetri Mitchell stated, “I didn’t realise how much of a help it would be.” The 27-year-old Exeter City winger has made his return after a year-long absence, which followed an operation for a knee ligament injury. The former forward for Manchester United and Hibernian had been performing strongly prior to sustaining the injury during Exeter’s Carabao Cup fourth round defeat to Middlesbrough on 31 October 2023. This injury resulted in nearly a year away from playing and significant time off the training ground. He informed BBC Radio Devon that “It actually made the time go quicker than expected, especially the first eight or nine months up until I started to kick a ball and stuff like that.” Mitchell added, “Having something outside of football I think some people look at as a negative, I look at as something that’s keeping me doing something positive with my life.” He further commented, “You hear a lot of players might be gambling or doing stuff that they shouldn’t be, but I just see it as a positive and something that’s preparing me for after football.” This article incorporates content from Twitter. Permission is requested before loading, as cookies and other technologies may be utilized. Readers may wish to review Twitter’s external cookie policy and privacy policy before acceptance. To view this content, select ‘accept and continue’. Mitchell’s single appearance for Manchester United occurred in a 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace on the last day of the 2016-17 season, a match notably recalled for Jose Mourinho’s brief 20-second post-match press conference. Subsequently, he has played for Hibs, their Edinburgh rivals Hearts, and had an 18-month period at Blackpool. Throughout much of his career, his passion for fashion has persisted as he developed his brand, Benir Clothing. He humorously recalled, “It was me thinking it would be easy. Me thinking, ‘I play for Man United I can slap a logo on a t-shirt and sell loads of stuff.'” Mitchell added, “It’s definitely not the case, and year on year I’ve learnt more about myself and more about fashion and how to run a business and it’s been exciting.” Demetri Mitchell scored a goal only 25 minutes into his return match late last month. However, Mitchell’s attention must now shift back to the football pitch instead of the fashion world. He has progressively increased his playing time, making three substitute appearances in under three weeks, notably scoring within minutes of his return during an EFL Trophy victory against Bristol Rovers. He commented, “It felt great to score, but I was also dying through tiredness with only 20-30 minutes played.” Mitchell praised the support, stating, “The physios and staff have been really good with me – sometimes when you’re injured you can feel almost not part of club, whereas here the manager was always there for me when I needed to speak to him, the staff have been great.” He continued, “Sometimes you can feel like part of a side piece, but I still felt fully involved with the squad.” Mitchell expressed his ambitions, saying, “There’s a lot of new players and I want to show them what I’m about and want to show to the fans they’ve missed over the last year and can’t wait to get into full swing.”