Under the Bollaert-Delelis lights on Friday night, Jonathan Gradit is expected to take his place again. For Lens, the fixture against Lyon at 20:45 is another important Ligue 1 test. For their veteran defender, it is also evidence of a return that once seemed beyond reach.
Gradit made his league comeback in the 2-2 draw at Le Mans on 13 September, ending an absence of 310 days after a closed fracture of the tibia and fibula suffered in November 2025. The 33-year-old, who will turn 34 in November, admitted that only three months ago he was unsure whether he would ever resume his playing career.
“There were a lot of emotions when I came back,” Gradit said of his first match after the lay-off. “It felt like my first professional game again. There was some nervousness. After being out for so long, it is difficult.”
The international break has allowed him to train more calmly and to work with the squad on the different tactical set-up Lens are preparing. He says he is fit, happy and ready, with a starting role against Lyon now likely.
A difficult road back for a Lens leader
Gradit joined Lens in 2019 and has lived through the club’s rise from promotion to Ligue 1 football to Champions League nights. He has become one of the key voices in the dressing room, but the rehabilitation period tested him in ways a normal injury spell had not.
Despite strong backing from the club and his family, he described a deeply lonely stretch, marked by doubts and recurring negative thoughts. He had discussions with sporting director Jean-Louis Leca about his future while still having a year left on his contract, and the possibility of ending the agreement and retiring was genuinely considered.
“At one point I could not see much progress,” he said. “I went through a very low period. You have to be realistic and wonder whether you are wasting time. Mentally, you have to be strong.”
A turning point arrived during the summer. Gradit said he managed to “come back to the surface” and credited Leca as well as Lens general manager Benjamin Parrot for continually encouraging him and insisting that he could return. The defender now takes particular pride in having overcome the uncertainty.
“I honestly thought it was the end of my career,” he said. “Now it is all enjoyment. A few months ago, this felt so far away. I have to enjoy it and use what I went through to appreciate the end of my career.”
The experience has also altered his perspective beyond football. Gradit said the months away from the group reminded him that more serious things exist than being unable to play, and that he now views life differently.
He has not yet made a firm plan for life after football. Asked whether coaching, like assistant coach Yannick Cahuzac’s path, might appeal, Gradit said he had been too consumed by his recovery to consider retraining and was not convinced he currently possessed the instinct required to coach.
For now, his focus is entirely on Lens. Gradit said the hardest lesson was learning to keep going on days when motivation disappeared: to turn up, train and fight through the doubt anyway. Friday’s meeting with Lyon offers the next step in that recovery, with one of Lens’ longest-serving leaders still standing.
