Bukayo Saka says toughest injury setback gave him more balanced outlook on life
The Arsenal winger has admitted he initially feared he might never be the same player again after he suffered a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace last December which kept him out of action until April.
However, the enforced time away from football's 'conveyor belt' has helped him see the bigger picture, as he prepares to round off the season by playing his first England match since Thomas Tuchel took charge against Senegal on Tuesday night.
'I got to spend more time with my family and got to do more of the little things around the house that I wouldn't have even paid attention to when I was playing,' Saka said.
'On that note it was nice and I've come back with a bit more of a balanced head about football and life, and I'm trying to balance them better. It definitely helped me mentally.'
Saka also had a new arrival to keep him occupied.
'I got the dog while I was still playing but I got injured and he came while I was injured,' he said.
'It was a bit tough at first because he's a puppy and I couldn't really get after him. It was a good experience. It was funny. His name is Tucker.'
Saka said he also spent time reading, including one especially influential book called 'The Power of Now', written by Eckhart Tolle and given to Saka by Arsenal assistant coach Carlos Cuesta.
'(The book is) about not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future. Just being in the moment and always asking yourself 'what's necessary right now?',' he said.
'Sometimes I can think, 'oh, am I going to come back in the best shape?'. Or, in the past, 'what could I have done to prevent injury?'.
'But all that is not necessary. It's only going to bring bad energy and negativity to your body.'
The timing of Saka's injury meant he had to undergo surgery at 5am on Christmas Eve in order to be able to return home in time for Christmas Day.
'It was horrible. It was the day before (Christmas Eve) we had to decide. Normally you get more time to make a decision,' he recalled.
England's Bukayo Saka during a press conference (Mike Egerton/PA)
'But where it was going to be Christmas, the surgeons want to be with their families, so I decided on the spot that we were doing the surgery. Then it was deciding what time and was I going to be there on Christmas Day. Obviously, that was the last thing I wanted.
'So I had to do it at 5am or 6am on Christmas Eve. Credit to the surgeon – he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 3 or 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin's house but I was in a big brace and had crutches.'
Asked what his Christmas Day was like, Saka said: 'I had to get my presents brought to me. It doesn't sound like the worst thing!
'When everyone got up to go to the dining room, it took me about 10 minutes to get there. Little things like that. It was very painful to get up and make my way there.'
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