On the eve of the 2018-19 A-League season Koutroumbis found a lump in his neck and was side-lined indefinitely after being diagnosed with Stage 1 thyroid cancer.

But just six weeks after having surgery to remove the cancerous thyroid gland the 20-year-old was back training with his Jets teammates.

Koutroumbis told FTBL that his recovery was down to the Newcastle medical staff as well as his Greek Orthodox faith.

“It was a Godsend for the lump to form,” he said. “I feel that it appeared for a reason and definitely O’Neil Maharaj (club doctor) and Nathan Renwick (head physiotherapist) and the surgeons - it was a big help from them.

“I always believe that God is with me. That God will guide me and the people that have left me from this earth are guiding me as well.

“I’ve been taught that from a young age from my grandparents and my mum and dad, they  have always said that God will always be there for you. That just put me over the line.”

With 2018 coming to a close Koutroumbis looked back on the previous 12 months as one that contained both extreme highs and lows.

“I was looking back at the season we had and the whole year in general and yes there has been ups and downs, plenty,” he said.

“We played the Grand Final and then this happened. You never expect anything like this and you never know what’s going to happen in life. Things can change all of a sudden

“It was like a blur when the doctor told me. It was hard to focus because so many other things were running through my mind it was hard to comprehend what he was saying. It was a very big shock at the time.”

Looking ahead to 2019 Koutroumbis was buzzing at the prospect of helping the Jets climb up the A-League ladder.

“I’m excited to be on the bench each week and it gives me an opportunity to come on and when I do come on I’ll try my best my hardest to affect the team in a positive way,” he said.

“I always try and train as hard as I can.

"I’ve also learnt to do things properly, eat properly, sleep properly, so the health things will fall back into place.

“I had no control of what happened. In order to move on from that I’ve got to do right things by my body in order to do well in football because obviously it contributes.

“So if I do all the rights things beforehand I could become a better football.”