The Black Cats forward has endured two years of injury woes but is now back on the pitch.
Sunderland striker Duncan Watmore has spoken out about his two years of injury woes, his comeback and why he feels “very lucky” now he is back on the pitch.
The 24-year-old suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury during Sunderland’s 2-1 Premier League home win over Leicester City on 3 December 2016.
He was ruled out for almost a year before he returned last term, playing six games before suffering a reoccurance in November 2017 and not featuring again until last November.
On Tuesday night, the Black Cats laboured to an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Blackpool, but for Watmore, it meant a lot as it was the first time he had completed 90 minutes in a first-team fixture for more than two years.
“Even now I don’t feel I am 100 per cent completely back to myself,” Watmore told Sky Sports News. “I know that won’t come for a while. But I feel as good as I can do at this stage.
“Obviously, you are going to have some doubts but I am doing everything that I can. It is always a gradual process with an injury like this. It has been two years of hard rehab with both the physical and mental challenges but this is what you do it for – to get back on the pitch. The lads and the fans have been brilliant with me so I feel very lucky.”
Watmore’s stints on the sidelines coincided with Sunderland’s turmoil on and off the pitch, going from an established Premier League side to suffering the ignominy of double relegations and now playing in League One.
However, with the Black Cats now at the right end of the table and more financially stable, it harbours well for the future of both parties, and maybe Watmore can make Sunderland feel very lucky to have him too.
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