Just days after being unveiled as Australia's first ever Football Superstar, his world came crashing down around him. But as the second series prepares to hit our screens he tells FourFourTwo how he's determined to bounce back from injury and shine with Sydney FC.

442 - Is it fair to say that your joy at winning the first series of Football Superstar was pretty short-lived Adam? We discovered you had won the series and the next minute you seemingly disappeared. What happened?

AH - I suffered a knee injury just a few days after the programme went out which revealed I'd won (August 2008). Obviously I'd been training with Sydney FC for a while before that though. I was playing in a youth game when I felt a pop in my right knee. I had hoped it wasn't anything serious but when I went to have it checked out it turned out I'd ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament.

That must have been hard to take in, especially after the high of winning the show and the contract with Sydney FC?
I was absolutely devastated. What made it even tougher was that I'd been told a couple of days before that I was going to be on the bench for the first team in the opening A-League fixture against Melbourne Victory. From a television point of view it must have seemed as though I'd been given the good news about winning the show on a Friday and been injured the following Monday.

So what happened next and how did you deal with the disappointment?
I have to say all the boys at the club were really good with me. They told me I could have a couple of weeks where I felt angry and frustrated but then I'd just have to get myself stuck into the rehab and approach it all with a really positive attitude. That's what I've tried to do. I went back to Perth to have my operation and it was felt I'd probably be better off doing most of my rehab work over here.

It's obviously a long and painful road back from such an injury. Have there ever been times where you wondered if you would get back?
It has been hard being away from it all and there are times when you ask yourself are you coming back from this? But then you look and realise that other players who have suffered this injury have come back from it and come back stronger in a lot of cases. Maybe you look at it from a sense that everything happens for a reason. I want it even more than I did before. There's even more drive to succeed. I've been working hard with a running coach, doing three or four sessions a week and I'm actually quicker now than I was before. I've just started kicking a ball again as well. Then I'm looking forward to going back to Sydney FC, hopefully they'll see there's no problem, and I can start again. Sydney have been very good to me.

So what kind of player will Sydney FC be getting, for those who don't know too much about you?
 I'm a central midfielder, a playmaker. I like to get the ball down and dictate play.

Back to Football Superstar. How did you get involved in the first place?
When I was in England (as a trainee at Championship side Coventry City) the boys there used to watch the English version of the show. We used to laugh about it to be honest. When I came back here a mate told me about the show in Australia and at first I said I wasn't interested. But we went along, I think we wanted to have a kickaround to warm up for a game we had that weekend. When I got into the top 50 though I realised there was a real opportunity.

You ended up winning the show but do you still keep in touch with any of your fellow contenders?
Yes, I still speak to the boys who were from Perth and also the two lads who were in the final show with me, Evan and Reno.

The second series of Football Superstar is about to get underway with players trying to earn a contract with Melbourne Victory. Is there any advice you can offer those taking part?
What I'd say is that they should take every challenge/activity seriously and do it to the best of your ability. They don't get you to do things without a good reason behind it. They are looking to test you in every situation. It might not always seem obvious to you but they are testing you all the time. I remember occasions where maybe a few boys were thinking 'this isn't a football thing' but I realised after the first activity (an army obstacle course) that it was all important. In fact I remember thinking in the car on the way back from that army thing that someone would probably be evicted as they'd picked out a few of us to be talked to by Kossie. That's just what happened.

Final question Adam. Any spare cereal in the cupboard?
Yeah, a couple of boxes. I'm coming to Sydney soon to do some promo work for them as well.

The second season of Football Superstar on Fox 8 begins Wednesday, May 27. For more information on the show, head here.