The England international spent over two months on the sidelines before returning to score against Nottingham Forest on Sunday
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has revealed that he was forced to train with just his left foot for a number of weeks after suffering chips to two bones in his right.
The 26-year-old marked his first match since mid-October with a goal in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest as he aims to re-establish himself under Frank Lampard.
And the England international is keen to further impress with the Blues still involved in three competitions heading into the second half of the campaign.
“It felt great to just be back on the pitch,” Barkley said at Stamford Bridge. “I haven’t played for a while. After I injured my foot, I had a setback for a while. I was in pain until probably a couple of weeks ago when I became pain-free.
“I have put in a lot of hard work and I was grateful to get a start today and get a goal. It is tough to be on the side watching games. You want to be on the pitch. But I had trouble.
“I had fine chips on two parts of my bone in my foot so it was really painful. I just had to bide my time and keep working hard.
“I couldn’t really kick the ball with my right foot so I was training with my left. But now I feel good and I am ready to get back in the side and keep working hard.
“I was trying my hardest to pass the ball in training with my right foot but it was that painful I just had to train with my left foot. Some days I would have to come out of training because it would be really painful, but for the last two or three weeks, I have been pain-free so I have been putting in the extra yards.
“After training, I have been doing double sessions fitness-wise so I could stay on top of it with me not getting games for a while. Hopefully, I can kick on from here and get back in the side by continuing to work hard in training. Hopefully with a goal I have put that thought back in the manager’s mind.”
“I have got to keep scoring with every chance I get. Last time I went away with England I scored a couple and then I came back and got a setback. So it was frustrating from that side of it. But to come back and score today is good for my confidence. I will come back into training on Tuesday ready to kick on again.”
England will likely be monitoring Barkley’s return after Gareth Southgate used him heavily in their qualification campaign for Euro 2020.
And though Barkley has not spoken to Southgate during his spell on the sidelines, he is hopeful that his club form ahead of the spring internationals can see him continue in midfield for the Three Lions.
“From the last camp I spoke with him because I got called up to the England squad,” he added. “I was struggling and it wasn’t beneficial for me to go with the England squad to just get treatment and not play any games.
“It was more about getting myself right and I have been feeling right for the past couple of weeks now. I was back in the side today and hopefully, he will have seen I have scored – which he probably will – and then we have got a lot of games until the next England meet-up.
“But the main thing is to focus on helping us progress [at Chelsea] and get our home form much better so we can kick on and get higher up the table.”
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