It is almost a year to the day since Ilkay Gündogan played his last football match, scoring a goal in Germany’s 3-3 draw with Paraguay in Kaiserslautern on 14 August 2013 before going off injured. Since then, the Borussia Dortmund player has returned to light training after undergoing a back operation in June this year. "I’ve waited a long time for the moment when I can clearly say that things are heading in the right direction," Gündogan said in an interview with German weekly sports magazine Sport Bild.
Despite this progress, the 23-year-old is reluctant to predict when he will make his competitive return. "It would be irresponsible to set a date," he said, adding: "I’ve got to give myself time and the club aren’t rushing me either. But of course I’m impatient to get back into training as quickly as possible. After my operation we said the aim is to get me up to match fitness by the autumn."
Gündogan has not considered ending his career at any stage during his long injury break. "But of course I asked myself whether I’ll ever be back in the same form I was before," the central midfielder admitted, as he believes that "refusing to address the problem properly" would have been worse.
"There were offers"
According to Gündogan, the main issues have not changed over the past year: "What kind of injury is it? How long will it last? It’s not a break, it’s not a tear, it’s an inflammation – the nerve is causing problems. Nobody can tell me when it’ll all be over." At one point, he even "wished I’d suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament rather than an injury as frustrating as this".
On the subject of a possible contract extension with BVB until 2016, Gündogan said: "Provided I’m fit, we’ll sit down again and talk about a further extension and the future. I’m happy to do that." Were there offers from any other clubs during his layoff? "Yes, there were, but I didn’t get involved with them at all."
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[bild1]
It is almost a year to the day since Ilkay Gündogan played his last football match, scoring a goal in Germany’s 3-3 draw with Paraguay in Kaiserslautern on 14 August 2013 before going off injured. Since then, the Borussia Dortmund player has returned to light training after undergoing a back operation in June this year. "I’ve waited a long time for the moment when I can clearly say that things are heading in the right direction," Gündogan said in an interview with German weekly sports magazine Sport Bild.
Despite this progress, the 23-year-old is reluctant to predict when he will make his competitive return. "It would be irresponsible to set a date," he said, adding: "I’ve got to give myself time and the club aren’t rushing me either. But of course I’m impatient to get back into training as quickly as possible. After my operation we said the aim is to get me up to match fitness by the autumn."
Gündogan has not considered ending his career at any stage during his long injury break. "But of course I asked myself whether I’ll ever be back in the same form I was before," the central midfielder admitted, as he believes that "refusing to address the problem properly" would have been worse.
[bild2]
"There were offers"
According to Gündogan, the main issues have not changed over the past year: "What kind of injury is it? How long will it last? It’s not a break, it’s not a tear, it’s an inflammation – the nerve is causing problems. Nobody can tell me when it’ll all be over." At one point, he even "wished I’d suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament rather than an injury as frustrating as this".
On the subject of a possible contract extension with BVB until 2016, Gündogan said: "Provided I’m fit, we’ll sit down again and talk about a further extension and the future. I’m happy to do that." Were there offers from any other clubs during his layoff? "Yes, there were, but I didn’t get involved with them at all."
