Positive steps forward & my FA cup!

Moving into my 5th week of rehab everything has been progressing nicely.

Each week I have a breakdown of targets and milestones of where I should be at in terms of my recovery and fitness and each week I have been achieving these. It is important to have this breakdown as it makes you realise how much you are actually progressing and you also get a great sense of satisfaction every time you achieve one of these small goals.

This week has seemed like I have made some big steps in my recovery. At the start of the week I was aware that we would start doing some very early stage rehab out of the air cast boot that I have been wearing for the last couple of weeks, I was extremely tentative on Monday when Phil Hayward asked me to bring both of my trainers into the gym as he had a Glute activation session planned for me.

Glute activation in basic terms is different exercises to help recruit the gluteal muscles (bum muscles) which will help your hamstrings, lower back and other muscle groups not to become overloaded. I was doing these various exercises with a resistance band placed around my ankles, some exercises where my feet were planted and others which involved me walking. As I said, on Monday I was very tentative about where I could put my left foot down, very cautious about where my foot placement was and very cautious that I didn’t want to transfer too much weight to the outside of my foot where my injury was. However by Friday and after 5 consecutive days of these different drills I was doing them as if there was never a problem and if I was fully fit. This felt to me as huge progress!

When you get injured it seems impossible that you will ever move with the same freedom that you previously had, but as the weeks go by, you keep breaking down each barrier that you had put up in front of yourself as you edge closer to full fitness. I still get a bit envious when I see someone just jump up out of a chair quickly without worrying where they put their foot, or when someone just wriggles their foot into an already tied shoe as I’m watching squeamishly at the pain that would cause me. Every single week though, I am amazed at how much more I can do compared with the previous one and I’m sure next week when I’m back to full weight bearing and out of the air cast boot completely, I will then find it hard to believe the discomfort and awkwardness I had felt when I first put a trainer on my left foot at the start of the week.

This week I have also been allowed to start swimming. I have mentioned in the last few blogs that I have been looking forward to this and it hasn’t disappointed. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have headed straight to Nuffield Health club in Wolverhampton. I have been getting there for around 8am and using their outdoor pool to do about 30 minutes of swimming. They have amazing facilities and I love the idea of swimming outside in the fresh air, although it is a bit nippy when you first step out of the doors in just your shorts! After I have finished I feel so mentally refreshed, it really sets me up for the rest of the day and I’m raring to head over to the training ground afterwards to start my gym sessions and rehab.

There has been a huge hype in my native Shrewsbury over the last couple of weeks about the F.A Cup 5th round tie with the footballing giants Manchester United. It was a great draw for the whole town and the first ever competitive game between the two teams. As F.A Cup fever hit Shrewsbury we were very lucky that the trophy got to visit our indoor soft play centre Little Rascals. Armed with security guards, children managed to get their pictures taken with the iconic cup and I even managed to get a hold. It wasn’t quite Wembley steps but I still loved it and it has left me dreaming!

I managed to go to the game with my boy Jack, brother Chris and nephew Tom. We were all very excited and the atmosphere was brilliant. Unfortunately for Town, it didn’t turn out as they would of hoped and Manchester United were very impressive as they cruised to a 3-0 win. It is a magnificent achievement though for Shrewsbury to get so far in the competition and hopefully it will spur them on to push up the table.

After a few difficult games and results for us at Wolves, I was so delighted to watch us get back to winning ways against Derby. I thought the whole club united in the face of adversity to win that game. From the performance on the pitch from the lads, the work the staff have put in and of course the passionate support from the fans. I think huge credit should go to the fans as it was an afternoon where emotions were high and the fans really got behind the lads and spurred them on to a huge result. Well done Wolves fans!

Thanks for reading as always!

Eddo

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