Good news as Aaron Ramsey nears a comeback

With all the bad news about serious injuries recently I was absolutely delighted to see that Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey is back in training and on schedule to return in November.

Injury

Ramsey suffered an horrendous injury, fracturing the tibia and fibula in his right leg in a game at Stoke in February. The injury resulted from a tackle by Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross that saw him sent off and started to raise the issue of dangerous tackling to become a major talking point in the English game.

Whilst Ramsey accepted that Shawcross didn’t mean to injure him so badly, he was highly critical of the reckless nature of the challenge. Speaking back in April, Ramsey said,

Tackling

“I remember everything but you just have to get on with things, and that is what I am doing. I don’t believe he wanted to break my leg but I think he wanted to go through the ball and me, to take me out and make sure I felt the tackle. He was caught out of position a little, but he could definitely have changed his mind before making the tackle, realising that he was not going to get there and so not committing. If I was tackling and saw that there was not a chance of getting to the ball cleanly, I would not make the tackle, and I don’t think there was a chance of him getting there. He has left me a voicemail and a text message, but I just want to concentrate on my recovery for now.”

The nineteen year old Welsh midfielder is regarded as a great prospect for the future and was showing signs of fulfilling his potential in the Arsenal first team prior to the injury. It would be fantastic if the injury has not set him back too far.

Moved

He moved to The Emirates from Cardiff in a £5 million deal and reportedly turned down a move to Manchester United in order to do so. He made twenty-nine appearances in all competitions last season before his injury.

After several months of rehabilitation following his operations, mainly in the gym, Ramsey is now training outdoors and kicking a ball. He is absolutely thrilled to be back.

Motivated

“It’s great to be back outside and kicking the ball again. I missed it for a long time, but it’s such a good feeling to be back outside. I’m a very motivated guy. I’ve missed a lot of football and it’s made me realise how much it means to me. Now I just want to get back and start doing what I used to do.”

Back in August Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger set Ramsey a target to be back in contention for selection by November. He too is thrilled by the Welshman’s progress.

“You would be amazed if you saw him in training, he has suddenly in the last month made a huge step forward. If I consider now when I look at him, you see his smile again. He has changed since six months ago because he has the feeling that the worst is behind him and everyday he is getting closer to what he wants to be, and that means being a football player.”

Pleased

It won’t just be Arsenal fans that will be pleased to see the young man back in action, it will be football fans everywhere. I reckon they will also be particularly pleased in Wales because they have certainly missed his creativity in their losing start to the European Championship qualifiers.

Here’s hoping that the recovery continues well and we soon see a fit, healthy and raring to go Aaron Ramsey back in the Premier League.