Versatile Super Eagles and Bayer Leverkusen forward Nathan Tella has revealed he is edging closer to a complete recovery after spending the last couple of months sidelined with a knee injury, Footynaija.com reports.
Tella injured his knee during Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt back in September and the Nigeria international has since been confined to the treatment table, missing a total of 12 games across all competitions.
Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand admitted at some point that Tella’s recovery was taking longer than normal after certain complications and the former Burnley star has now shed more light on his situation.
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What Nathan Tella said about his injury
“I’m not completely back [in training] with the team yet, but I have more confidence in my leg than I did the last time out,” Tella said in quotes revealed by Werkself Xtra.
“I feel like I’m on the right track. I’m no longer in pain. Now it’s just a matter of gaining confidence in my knee after the injury. I hope to be back soon and then stay with the team.
“I haven’t spoken to the fitness coaches yet, but I know I’m very close to team [training]. I don’t know exactly what day it will be, but I hope I can train with the team in the next two weeks.
“It was [a] strange [injury]. I felt my knee and it was quite painful. But I wasn’t too worried. I tried to train before the first Champions League game in Copenhagen. Then Gladbach came along.
“But the injury didn’t really heal. It was probably something more serious than just a knock to the knee. Together with the doctors and coaches, we decided not to rush anything until I was at 100 percent.
“I tore my cruciate ligament six years ago. Now it’s a ten-week break – compared to ten months, that’s nothing. I wanted to stay positive. Of course, it was exhausting and frustrating because I felt good and there was no obvious problem when you looked at it.
“The team was very supportive. I tried to support the guys. My main goal is to get back into the team. But – I want to be fit. I don’t want to have something like that again.”
Nathan Tella misses out on Super Eagles action
Tella’s fitness struggles ruled him out of contention for a place in Eric Chelle’s latest Super Eagles squad. So the 26-year-old will have to make do with cheering on his international teammates from Germany as they set out to conquer the CAF World Cup play-offs.
Leverkusen expect Tella to regain full fitness by the end of the ongoing international break. Head coach Hjulmand will be hoping no further complications arise as Die Werkself need all the help they can get ahead of a very challenging run of fixtures across competitions.
