Now approaching an end to his recovery, the young full-back sat down to talk with the official Palace programme for the upcoming Southampton edition, and provided an up-front account of the last two years.
He explains how injury has made him mature, why staff, family and teammates have been a support and the mental strain he's endured at a young age.
Supporters can read this interview and much more in our programme now or get their hands on one pre-match.
For those fans who want to buy a copy at the game, keep an eye out: we've hidden 10 cards signed by Nathan across our programme sellers - and we'll do this with every main interviewee in every edition going forward.
The Everton programme also includes Darren Ambrose's pre-match analysis, the story of a forward-thinking psychologist in Steve Coppell's era, Siobhan Wilson, Richard Shaw, Darren Powell and Rob Street.
What's inside
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Club news
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Manager, Chairman and captain’s notes
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A run-down on the opposition, including analysis and memories, a look at the key players and the stats you need to know
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Seven pages dedicated to the Academy, including: player interviews, updates from the managers and staff, and a look back at our proudest graduates – Street and Shaw feature in this edition, and we learn how the Under-23s overcame three of England's biggest sides in three games
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Insight into our earliest years in the 1800s and a feature on local non-league sides
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Updates from the Palace Women players, stats for all teams, challenges, your comments and more