Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster reflects on long-term injury
Wednesday 28 December 2016 19:56, UK
Fraser Forster has opened up to Sky Sports about his injury hell, but insists he is now feeling better than ever.
The Southampton goalkeeper suffered a potentially career-ending injury when he broke his kneecap during a game against Burnley in March 2015, but returned sooner than expected in January 2016 when Ronald Koeman threw him back into the team.
After being called up to England's Euro 2016 squad last summer, he has been ever-present for Southampton under Claude Puel in the Premier League and Europa League this season.
But in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, he explained how his recovery was a long and difficult road.
"It's just frustrating," Forster said.
"When you first get injured, I think the big thing is you just want to do stuff and work as hard as you can. The key thing was just to let your body heal.
"The hardest time is the first few months when you're just sitting around not able to do a lot. It's boring and frustrating but if you do that first bit correctly then it makes the rest of it a lot easier.
"I was very fortunate to have good people around me and being at a club that really cared for me. I can't really thank the people enough who helped me come back from that.
"We had done a lot of rehab and I had trained quite a bit and ended up getting chucked back in the team. It was probably the best thing for me.
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"I didn't have too much time to think about things. I feel better now than before I got injured.
"I think the challenge is to see it as an opportunity, work as hard as you can and come back in the best shape you can."
Forster made his England debut alongside Jay Rodriguez in November 2013 - but saw his club team-mate miss the entire 2014/15 season due to a devastating anterior cruciate injury.
The striker suffered further injury problems last season, but is now back in the Southampton team and scored twice in last weekend's 3-1 win over rivals Bournemouth.
And Forster says they have supported each other through their injury rehabilitations in the last couple of seasons.
"Having Jay around really helped me and I'd like to think at some point I have helped him," he said.
"He was a massive help and could tell me what to expect, what obstacles I'd come across and when I hit them he was always there to help me.
"Everyone knows what a good player he is. He was fantastic when Mauricio Pochettino was here and me and him made our England debut in the same game.
"He has had such a tough time. I don't think anyone can really believe how unlucky he has been but he's got so much quality and works so hard.
"It's nice to see him scoring again because no-one works as hard as him around the place."
