National team and Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira might be adopting a realistic approach towards his cruciate ligament injury, but the 26-year-old admitted in an interview with 11Freunde that his aim remains "to play at the World Cup", adding, "I’m staying relaxed about it for now though. It won’t be the end of the world if I don’t play in Brazil."
Khedira justfied his stance, saying: "I still have seven or eight wonderful years ahead of me as a professional footballer. I’m at a fantastic club, playing alongside outstanding players and I have the chance to win major trophies every single year. That’s all very important to me."
The midfielder recognises the importance of persistence: "It helped my rise to the top. My career wouldn’t have been such a dream come true without it", said the 44-time international. "But there comes a point in time when you need to combine focused, hard work with a certain level of relaxation and calmness."
Turning point after winter break
In rehab for the knee injury he suffered in a friendly against Italy last November, there were lots of things Khedira "wanted to make happen either through treatment or hard work. But it wasn’t possible at the time. If anything, the knee was even more swollen."
During the Christmas period he went on holiday with his entire family for a week, "and when I returned to rehab, I had about 30% more movement in my knee", he said. "That was a turning point for me, rather than constantly saying to myself that I had to make it to the World Cup."
But Khedira also wants to be honest with himself before the World Cup in Brazil (12 June to 13 July). National team coach Joachim Löw is aware "that I’ll work fanatically right up until the very last minute, but I also know that there’s no point lying to myself. That’s something I learned in rehab: you shouldn’t want to run if you know you’re not ready."
The man from Stuttgart summed up his World Cup chances thus: "It won’t be enough just to be fit. I need to be able to tell the coach that I’ll have no problems or fears when it comes to challenging for the ball, and that I’ll be fit and sharp enough to put in top-class performances against the best players on the planet."