Yet, fortunately, incredibly, Young was back pushing to be fit for the start of the new season, a campaign where he would help Villa to an FA Youth Cup triumph.
It prompted loan moves to Carlisle and Scottish Championship side Ayr, before his release in the summer of 2023 saw him leave the West Midlands for the Welsh champions – albeit he did not know much about the league he was joining.
The league certainly knows about Young, his lightning-quick pace and prolific marksmanship complemented with a football intelligence willing to link play as well as finish it.
He earned the accolade as the division’s top scorer despite not joining until a month into the season, and – although happy with his tally – he argues he perhaps should have scored even more.
“I didn’t have a pre-season so I struggled for weeks as I got my fitness up and I was cramping up everywhere,” he saud, adding that the switch from grass to the artificial pitches the majority of Cymru Premier clubs use also caused problems. “I had to adapt to everything but I got there in the end.”
The journey now takes him to Newport County’s Rodney Parade, the venue for Sunday’s final against Connah’s Quay Nomads in football’s third-oldest cup competition.
The league title – won by a record-breaking margin of 33 points – and a League Cup trophy safely secured, a treble is on offer.
And rather than be affected by his nightmarish experience, Young says it fires him.
“I’ve used it as motivation,” he said. “There’s a lot of haters in the world but I’ve used what happened as fuel, to push on and do better. I’m healthy, I’m fit and doing well and I want to kick on again.”
Listen to the interview with Brad Young on BBC Radio Wales Sport, Friday 27 April from 19:00 BST, and later on demand with BBC Sounds.