His ankle fully healed, for Bruce Djite it is now just a matter of getting back to full fitness.
His ankle fully healed, for Bruce Djite it is now just a matter of getting back to full fitness.
For a footballer on the comeback trail from injury, two months can seem like an eternity, and it has been no different for Djite.
After doing significant damage to ligaments in his ankle during a training session back in pre season, the robust striker is back up and about and eager to return to the fold.
Positively, Djite played 90 minutes for the Reds- Youth Team in the Foxtel National Youth League last weekend. Pulling up without any discomfort, other than the general soreness that comes with playing for the first time in a long time, the 26 year old is declaring himself available to be considered for the Reds- match against the Newcastle Jets on Saturday. But at the same time he knows he still has some time to go to get back to full fitness.
“The ankle is ready…physically I still think I have a bit of work to do but what-s the best way to get fit – play games, so I-ll be putting my hand up,” Djite said.
“Obviously it-s the coach-s call…there is still a lot of work for me to do physically but the ankle is feeling good.”
“It was good to get a hit out and good to get 90 minutes, which was unexpected so the fact that I survived that was mentally very good for me.”
Saturday-s game against the Jets is a welcome return home for the Reds, who fell in narrow losses to the Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Wanderers away in the past fortnight.
While there is always the disappointment to come away with nothing, the Reds certainly were not outplayed by the best two teams from last season and Djite like his coach and the rest of his team mates remains optimistic about what lies ahead.
For Djite, consecutive defeats are certainly no reason for concern just four rounds into the season, particularly going by how the Reds are played
“I think we-ve played well and if you play well long enough the results will come,” Djite said.
“You-ve got to look at it as an investment, not just the players but the club and what we-re trying to create here. Investments take time to bear fruit.”
“Two losses on the trot aren-t that bad. Obviously we want to win every game and I think it-s important to understand that we were not saying that we-re just happy to play well and don-t care about the result.
“Results are first and foremost…so we understand that but it-s like an investment, if things go bad and you get rid of that investment you-ll probably regret it in the long run, so just because we lost two in a row doesn-t mean anything needs to change because we-ve been playing quite well, so I think that it will start to bear fruit.”
To hear what else Djite had to say, click on the video link above.
