William Troost-Ekong has revealed he could still return to action before the end of the current season, reports Completesports.com.
The Nigeria international however stated that he is not willing to rush his recovery process and will gladly wait till the start of next season to aid his smooth return to action.
The 30-year-old sustained the injury at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Troost-Ekong went under the knife in Finland last month.
“I should be back and fit again in May, but I think it’s probably season over. You never know how rehab will go but I don’t want to rush it because at my tender age of 30 you have to be smart about these injuries,” Troost-Ekong told CNN World Sports.
“I want to be 100% for next season, 100% right. If I can play at the end this season that’s great, if not then I will be ready for next season.”
The PAOK Salonica player also explained how he managed to play at AFCON with the injury.
“I had a torn bicep femoris, which is basically the outside part of the hamstring. It happened during the tournament and I think I had a small tear initially in the second group stage game against Cote d’Ivoire. I managed to play on and then after the final I had another MRI, and we realised it was really ruptured,” he recounted.
“It was very sore playing with it, and I couldn’t really train after the second group game. I was just trying ice to keep the swelling down.
“I might do half an hour of training the day before each game, and then during the game a combination of painkillers and adrenaline mean you can get through it. The day after each game it was definitely showing as I was struggling to walk.”
He added: “But thankfully now I’m sorted. I went to Finland to have surgery with Dr Lasse Lampainen who is one of the best in the world and has operated on quite a few Watford players in the past.”
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This guy is blessed to have to play wonderfully for his Nation under such a pain and agony. Yet, he still came on top as the BEST player in Africa. Nigeria missed him against Ghana the other day. He is a game changer.