Aston Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has assured fans that he will come back stronger from his injury nightmare.
The 28-year-old suffered a knee injury in the Lions’ 1-0 loss to Liverpool on December 11 and it forced him to go under the knife for treatment.
Nakamba, who clinched Aston Villa’s Player of the Month award for November, rued the setback at a time when he was starting to establish himself in Steven Gerrard’s squad.
“Injuries are frustrating at any time, but I’d just won the Player of the Month for the club and I was getting more game time,” Nakamba told the club’s website.
“Steven Gerrard and his new team came in and I’m grateful for the chance I got from them. I was enjoying the training and improving.
“Unfortunately, I got the injury and now I have to work hard on coming back stronger. It’s my first big injury since I started playing professional football, so I’ve had to be strong.
“People around me have been encouraging me but I also knew in myself that these things can happen. I have to focus on getting better, becoming stronger and stronger. I’m working on being stronger mentally, physically, everything.”
"I just have to soldier on and focus on coming back as quickly as possible." 🗣️
A catch-up with @Nakamba_11, as he continues his rehabilitation at Bodymoor Heath. 🙌
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 24, 2022
The injury dashed Nakamba’s hopes of playing for Zimbabwe at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon where they failed to make it past the group stage and he described the spectator experience as a frustrating one for him.
“The timing was very, very bad. There was the Africa Cup of Nations for my country, so it was very frustrating for me,” the former Club Brugge star added.
“I had to support the guys that went there to do the best for the nation. It was out of my control.”