Bukayo Saka has opened up on the concerns he had for his future as a player when he underwent surgery on a hamstring injury in December.
The Arsenal forward’s season was derailed when he was forced out of the Gunners’ 5-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on December 21.
It proved to be a nightmare injury for the 23-year-old who would miss 101 days of action and not feature again till April 1.
Incredibly he scored just seven minutes into his return, netting in a 2-1 win over Fulham, but he had genuine concerns over how he would be when recovering from injury.
‘The first two days were the toughest – that realisation that I’ve got what I’ve got and I need an operation. You start to think … am I going to be the same?’ Saka said while on England duty.
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‘Players have come back from this injury and weren’t the same. But after two days, the surgery was done and successful and you just look forward.
‘I was really positive and put in all the work I needed with my diet, in the gym, on the pitch. I feel I’ve come back in a good place.
‘It is about how much you want it – and I wanted it a lot. I knew the games I was coming back to and wanted to be in the best shape possible which is why I did everything.’
The timing of the injury made the difficult situation even more stressful as Saka felt a bit rushed into the decision to go under the knife.
‘It was horrible. Normally, you get more time to make a decision,’ he said. ‘But it was going to be Christmas, the surgeons want to be with their families, so I decided on the spot that we were doing the surgery.
‘It was about deciding whether I was going to be there on Christmas Day and, obviously, that was the last thing I wanted.
‘So I had to do it at 5am on Christmas Eve. Credit to the surgeon – he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 3 or 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin’s house but I was in a big brace and had crutches.’
Saka scored twice more after his return from injury, netting against Real Madrid and PSG in the Champions League.
He picked up another injury on the last day of the Premier League campaign, but is fit again and ready to play for England on Tuesday against Senegal in Nottingham.
‘After the last game of the season I had a little strain,’ Saka said on Monday. ‘Fair play to England, they managed me well. The manager left me out (on Saturday against Andorra) and said I will play tomorrow.
‘I love coming to England camps and playing for England. It has been a bit of frustrating year with injuries but I am here now and looking forward to tomorrow.’
On the prospect of Saka returning to the England starting XI on Tuesday, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel said: ‘Very excited, because I could see that he worked hard to come back from his injury.
‘He had this minor discomfort in the last match [of Arsenal’s season], which worried me a little bit. Then he just had one full training session and one half training session.
‘We decided in the end, to protect myself a little bit, to not let him be in the squad. But he is happy. He will start tomorrow and, of course, is a key player for us.’