Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda confident he’s ‘on the right track’ to recovery after FOUR-YEAR injury hell… despite being told he had ’20 per cent’ chance of coming back from posterior cruciate ligament damage
The Zambian went four years without playing back-to-back football matches
He has trained at Dubai’s Transform Altitude Centre in a bid to salvage his career
But the 24-year-old has underlined he could still have a 10-year career in football
Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda has openly discussed his four-year injury hell but insisted he is set for an ‘incredible comeback’ after suffering chronic knee injuries.
The Zambian, 24, has been at Chelsea since 2012 when he was just 15 years old and was rated as one of the world’s best young players at the age of 16.
He suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury on loan at Vitesse Arnhem in 2016 and has barely played since then, training at Dubai’s Transform Altitude centre in a bid to revive his ailing top-level career.
In an interview with the BBC, Musonda – currently in injury rehabilitation – compared his journey to getting ready for a boxing match.
He said: ‘It’s very difficult to have three years without being able to do what you really love. I would be lying to say it’s been easy, but I’ve always known that some struggles are worth going through.
‘I feel like a fighter now preparing for a boxing match. It would be an incredible comeback – an incredible story. Every day is part of the journey, every day a step closer to coming back. I’m on the right track.
‘I do believe if I put a run together and I come back, I can play for a good 10 years. I’m still 24 – if I come back in the prime of my career, I can put a run together – that’s my goal.’
Musonda was told the odds of him returning to football was around 20 per cent, and the odds of hum returning at the highest level and playing for Chelsea was ‘slim to none’.
The injury also meant he was forced to watch from the sidelines as fellow Blues academy prospects like Mason Mount, Reece James and Tammy Abraham broke into the first-team.
He concluded: ‘I know how hard it is, so I’m really proud of them. Seeing people you’ve grown up with doing so well, you can only be happy. Hopefully, I’ll be able to one day train and play with them again.’
Musonda’s elder brothers Lamisha and Tika were also on the books if Chelsea before they were released.
Tika was signed by Congolese giants TP Mazembe whilst his father was an assistant coach in Lubumbashi.
His father, Charly Snr is a former Zambia international and played in Belgium.
His uncle Bilton is one of the top coaches in the Zambian Super League. He is currently coaching Lumwana Radiants.
Charly Jnr’s cousin Chilu is also a midfielder and on the books of Green Buffaloes in Zambia.
Why is he being addressed to as Zambian? Coz he and his family want to be addressed to as Belgians. Let’s not complicate things.