The 28-year-old has been struggling with recurring injuries and he is yet to play a competitive match this season
Levante midfielder Cheick Doukoure is aiming to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon and play for the Ivory Coast again.
He suffered the injury in July and he is expected to be on the sidelines for over six months. The setback came barely two months after he recovered from a cruciate ligament injury which kept him out of action from February 2019 to May 2020.
Doukoure is yet to play for Levante this season with his last competitive appearance dating back to July when he was on loan at Huesca.
On the international scene, the 28-year-old’s last outing with the Ivory Coast was over two years ago during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
When asked about his long absence from the Elephants squad, the 2015 Africa Cup Nations winner told Goal; “The selection was part of my daily life. I got used to it. Today, I want to find my daily life and therefore the selection. Defending the colours of your country is the pinnacle.
“We had created a family and this is something that I miss a lot. I was injured before Afcon 2019. It was hard to accept because I had done everything to qualify.
“But I continued to follow them and today I’m lucky that the coach (Patrice Beaumelle) hears from me. He bothered to call me as soon as he took the team. We know each other because he was with us when we won the Afcon in Equatorial Guinea. He shows me that he is counting on me, that I am not left out. The staff calls me too.”
Doukoure has started mild training sessions ahead of a potential return in January and he disclosed how he’s coped with the injuries.
“It is true that it makes two big injuries in a short time. I had my cruciate ligaments in February 2019. I also had a small tear at the beginning of the year, and now the Achilles tendon,” he continued.
“These are hard knocks to take every time. It is not always easy to accept, especially since I had already made the crossroads in Metz. But I am lucky to have a big mind, I am equipped to face these tests.
“My family is around me, I work a lot and I take that as a challenge. So far, I have been able to respond to every hard blow, but it is sure that a lot of work had to be done because recurring injuries are never trivial. I don’t have a bad lifestyle. I am a calm person.
“I’m fine. I resumed work with the ball on the field, I resumed the work of running and support too. I am entering the last phase now. The objective is to be present for January in order to attack the second part of the season at the top.”
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