Lyden burst into England's Premier League in February 2016 with Aston Villa at the age of 20. The Western Australian product, who joined Villa from ECU Joondalup six years ago, was tipped by many to be a future Socceroo.
But since that breakthrough campaign, where he played four Premier League games and two FA Cup matches for the first-team, Lyden has faced injury hurdle after hurdle.
The midfielder has had to contest with quadriceps, ankle and knee complaints, which have pushed him further out of the selection equation at Villa.
But after joining League Two club Oldham Athletic on loan at the end of August, Lyden is gaining game-time and keen for his career to kick on.
“It tested my character massively,” the 22-year-old told The World Game.
“The hardest thing, I find, in football is injuries because you cant do anything about them.
"If you’re not getting picked at least you can do something about it, you can impress in training.
“But the worst thing is sitting on the sidelines seeing people play while you can’t do anything about it. So it’s been difficult.
"My parents live in Australia still so I haven’t really had the support, which most young kids have over here.
“I still speak to my parents every day. My host family back at Villa have helped me massively and everyone at the club has helped me over the years.
"It has been a good test of my character but I’ve got through it now and hopefully I can push on.”
Lyden has made six appearances for Oldham, scoring one goal. In September he helped the Lactics knock League One side Bradford City out of the FA Cup.
“I’ve come to Oldham to get first-team experience and to get some minutes under my belt,” he said.
“I made my debut three years ago with Villa but I’ve sort of been haunted with injuries.
"I fell down the pecking order but hopefully I can keep showing what I’m doing here at Oldham and see where it takes me in my career.
“I’m still contracted at Villa but who knows what will happen? I’d like to go back there and impress the gaffer there, as I want to play at that top level.
“I’m really happy at Oldham at the moment, the boys have helped me settle in and so has the gaffer. I’m happy playing football again.
“I’m really enjoying it. When I first came I was due to play in the Checkatrade Trophy but I picked up an injury in my second training session, which set me back a few weeks.
“But obviously over the last four games I’ve started, so I’ve got myself in a good routine in the moment, playing in the games and getting throught it. Fingers crossed I can keep that going.”
Lyden bagged an outrageous goal, his first in first-team football, in a 3-1 win over Cambridge United earlier this month. He struck in the 76th minute, finding the back of the net from long range.
“It was my first professional goal so it was a memorable night for me,” Lyden explains.
“The keeper came running out and gifted it to me really. As soon as I saw him come running out I thought I may as well have a go at it.
“It felt perfectly on my left foot, which was a nice feeling when it hit the back of the net. The main thing was that we got the three points.”
Lyden is hopeful his injury problems are fully behind him and wants his loan with Oldham, which is set to experience in January, extended until the end of the season.
“The body’s coping quite well,” he said.
“I’m got myself in a good routine. It’s difficult to get into a routine with Under-23s football because you might have a game on Monday, then you won’t have a game for two weeks.
“But the games in the Football League come thick and fast, which is good. I’m playing Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday with very little training in between so the games are keeping me fit.
“I’m more than happy to stay here for the rest of the season. The main thing for me now at the stage I’m at in my career is getting games, so where I can most of them.
“Hopefully I can help get Oldham back into League One and kick on from there.”
Perth-born Lyden has represented Australia at Under-20 level, earning two caps for the Young Socceroos in 2014. But becoming a Socceroo remains one of his goals.
“Definitely. I’d love to represent my country,” he said.
“I’ve represented them at Under-20 level but the most important thing I feel is club football. If you haven’t got a club you can’t really play for your national team.
“So I think if I keep performing like I am then hopefully the manager of the Socceroos will like me, and I get picked I will show him what I can do. I will take the chance with both hands and perform. That’s what you have to do in football.”
