AC Milan defender Simon Kjaer has revealed some of the details regarding his recovery process as well as his belief that team are ready for Sunday’s huge game against Napoli.
Kjaer suffered a serious knee injury back in December last year in the away win over Genoa and he needed eight months to get back onto the grass, but he has already started two games this season and looks to be back to being a defensive leader.
He spoke to Milan TV to give his thoughts on the current moment the club are experiencing, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“The path to get here was hard, but very beautiful. Two days before I was at the award ceremony for the Ballon d’Or and two days later I broke my knee,” he began.
“I have always had a passion for football, I have always given my best every day to learn. It has been an interesting journey, even from a mental point of view. It has given me many things and many possibilities to work on other aspects of my body, to get back better than before. I’m ready, then in football there are always things you can never know.”
On his return to Marassi to start against Sampdoria: “When the game started I didn’t think about it anymore, before the game the memory came back to me but I wasn’t afraid or worried about the pitch. For me it was a field like any other.”
On the growth of his team-mates: “The team made a great journey when I was out. We won the Scudetto. Our kind of football puts many teams in Italy in difficulty because we play at a very high pace. Our system works. My relationship with the group and with the coach makes me work in peace, but this does not mean that I go slowly: I have always been given the time to train well.”
On his defensive colleagues: “Pierre and Fik have been on a fantastic journey, and this makes me happy. Kalulu joined a group and a system that went and grew from game to game. He had a great great season, he became a player.”
On Sunday’s opponent: “Napoli are doing very well. It will be an important game, I don’t want to say decisive because it is still early, but it gives us a signal to tell us where we are. The more points you score before the World Cup the more you have a great advantage because there they will be a lot of matches.
“If you go into difficulty there will be no time to train, but only to play. We must show Napoli and the fans that at San Siro we do all we can to win. It won’t be easy, but Milan must be Milan.”
Indeed milan must be milan. Well said kjaer