Sissoko fit and raring to go

Moussa Sissoko has had time to reflect on what has been an extraordinary 2020.

Indeed, the popular French midfielder has had to deal with two firsts – not just the coronavirus, which has affected us all, but also what he describes as the ‘first big injury’ of his career that saw him undergo knee surgery in January.

Moussa was on his way back to fitness when the country went into lockdown in March but, nevertheless, missed 15 games in all competitions during his rehabilitation.

Typically consistent this season - featuring in 26 of our 28 matches up to his final appearance at Southampton in January, starting 23 - Moussa, 30, is now raring to go for the Premier League’s return and a vital game against Manchester United on Friday week, 19 June.

He told us: “At the beginning it wasn’t easy. First of all, it was my first big injury since I played football but after, you need to accept that and try to do everything to come back as soon as possible.

“I was ready to come back in March but the virus came so I had to stay out of training like everyone, but at the same time it was good because I had more time to recover and to work even more to be fit. Now, since we’ve come back, I’m feeling very well, I don’t have any pain so I’m ready to go again, to compete and play games.

“You realise when you are playing and training that you are lucky, because you can do what you like the most in your life. When you’re out, it’s difficult to see people training, to see people playing games and you want to be part of it, but you can’t.

“Again, you need to say, ‘okay you’re injured, but it’s not the end of the world’ and you will do everything to try to come back. Some people in the world, they are in the hospital, they are dying every day, but for me, I will have a chance to go back on the pitch again.

“At the same time it was a good time to relax a little bit more, maybe to spend a little bit more time with my family and to have a different vision of football and everything, and to think also about what I’ve done in the past in my career and what I can do in the next few years so it’s been a good experience, of course I hope I will not be injured again, but I’ve had this time so I could think a lot about everything and now I’m very happy to be back on the pitch.”