The seemingly indestructible Jackson Irvine will go to the well one last time in his remarkable 2024, turning out to captain his Bundesliga side St Pauli despite carrying an injury.
The 31-year-old Socceroo stalwart, who constantly leads by example as a hard-running, never-say-die skipper for his Hamburg-based club, was hailed by team coach Alexander Blessin on Thursday for "doing everything for his team".
An inspiration for the cult club he helped regain promotion to Germany's top-flight for the first time in 13 years back in May, Irvine reflected on an amazing year for himself on Thursday as he prepared for their last game of the year against Stuttgart on Saturday.
It's been a struggle since they went back up to the Bundesliga, with the side currently lying 15th just above the relegation spots, but their captain has been a constant shining light for them as they face huge problems with eight players in the squad currently sidelined with long-term injuries.
Blessin admitted on Thursday that Irvine has been playing with an injury for two weeks, a deep-lying muscle problem that causes discomfort but which doesn't entail the risk of causing a potentially longer absence should he continue to play on."
But he conceded that the Socceroos midfielder, who has also captained his national team too, will need the 10-day mid-season break after the Stuttgart match to fully recover.
"He always goes full pelt. He does everything for the team," said Blessin in a tribute to his captain.
"The distances Jacko has covered this year - not just on flights but also on the pitch - are absolutely amazing, and you also have to take your hat off to him.
"(The injury) isn't hindering him. It's not as if we're taking a risk of him being sidelined for a while if we play him, but he'll need to break to nurse it."
For the well-travelled Melburnian, who's been a big success in Scotland and the lower leagues of the English game, Irvine's late-career flowering in Germany has been a huge career highlight.
"I could never have imagined this year would go the way it has. I got married, we won promotion and the championship, and are now playing in the Bundesliga -- and there's the national team as well," said Irvine.
"Everything that's happened in the last 12 months has been incredible and you want to carry that into the new year, that's for sure."
One of the features of his game has been how he's covered more distance in the midfield engine room than any of his teammates.
"Playing at this level and what it means to me personally and the club and the team is so important," he said.
"All the running has been part of my role in this team for a long time. The other players who are doing the most kilometres are some of the top midfielders in the league and if you want to be competitive with them you need to be able to physically compete."
After the Stuttgart game, though, he'll get a welcome Xmas break. "I'll be with my wife's family in Hull (in England), where I used to play," he said.
"It'll be nice to spend a few days with family, nice and relaxed. That's the most important thing. We don't have any traditions; we spent last Christmas in Australia, this one in England.
"We're just looking forward to spending some time with people we love."
