Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda confident he’s ‘on the right track’ to recovery after FOUR-YEAR injury hell… despite being told he had ’20 per cent’ chance of coming back from posterior cruciate ligament damage
- The Zambian went four years without playing back-to-back football matches
- He has trained at Dubai’s Transform Altitude Centre in a bid to salvage his career
- But the 24-year-old has underlined he could still have a 10-year career in football
Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda has openly discussed his four-year injury hell but insisted he is set for an ‘incredible comeback’ after suffering chronic knee injuries.
The Zambian, 24, has been at Chelsea since 2012 when he was just 15 years old and was rated as one of the world’s best young players at the age of 16.
He suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in 2016 and has barely played since then, training at Dubai’s Transform Altitude centre in a bid to revive his ailing top-level career.
Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda (pictured) has opened up on his four-year injury struggle
But the Zambian, 24, has declared he is back ‘on the right track’ in his recovery process
In an interview with the BBC, Musonda – currently in injury rehabilitation – compared his journey to getting ready for a boxing match.
He said: ‘It’s very difficult to have three years without being able to do what you really love. I would be lying to say it’s been easy, but I’ve always known that some struggles are worth going through.
‘I feel like a fighter now preparing for a boxing match. It would be an incredible comeback – an incredible story. Every day is part of the journey, every day a step closer to coming back. I’m on the right track.
The 23-year-old has revealed that doctors told him the chances of playing again were slim
Musonda had to watch from the sidelines as fellow Blues academy players broke into the side
‘I do believe if I put a run together and I come back, I can play for a good 10 years. I’m still 24 – if I come back in the prime of my career, I can put a run together – that’s my goal.’
Musonda was told the odds of him returning to football was around 20 per cent, and the odds of hum returning at the highest level and playing for Chelsea was ‘slim to none’.
The injury also meant he was forced to watch from the sidelines as fellow Blues academy prospects like Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham broke into the first-team.
He concluded: ‘I know how hard it is, so I’m really proud of them. Seeing people you’ve grown up with doing so well, you can only be happy. Hopefully, I’ll be able to one day train and play with them again.’