Chick: The game of the Achilles tendon rupture made me struggling for a long time, and I got used to "not on the list"

Hupu News on September 4th, England held a pre-match press conference. Chik, who returned after seven years, attended and answered reporters' questions. Here is the second part:

Part I: Chick: Tuchel asked me to play right wingback when he was at Chelsea, and I refused but still agreed

What have you been doing in the past seven years? Will you feel a little strange when you stay away from England during this period? After all, you were an important member of the England team under Gareth Southgate, and during that time, England did start to achieve a series of outstanding results. And this time I left for seven years. You must have never expected this to happen at the beginning, right?

is right. To be honest, this period is indeed a long time. I was selected for the 2018 World Cup roster and even got drafted a season after that, but I was always missed due to injuries. Of course, I tore my Achilles tendon at the end of that season, and it took me a year and a half to completely recover. So, during those days, the troubles caused by injuries and the process of working hard to recover and regaining their good condition was really hard for me psychologically. However, about a year and a half to two years later, I finally felt like I had regained myself. When I was playing for Chelsea, I was in good shape and then transferred to AC Milan - I am having a great time now and can play at a high level. That's probably the case.

How difficult was that trough period? Do you often fall into this kind of emotion alone and find it difficult to extricate yourself? Have you ever given up on the idea of ​​being selected for the English adult team again?

No. When I tore my Achilles tendon, I was actually at the height of my career, so I was really psychologically painful during that period. Fortunately, I was still young at that time and had time to recover, so I was not too depressed. However, if you haven't been selected for the national team for a long time, you will gradually get used to this "not on the roster" state - even if you still want to play well, keep working hard in the club, hoping to have a chance to return to the national team, but later I actually don't think about this matter much, but instead become a fan of the England team and will pay attention to their games.

You were selected into the 2018 World Cup squad, which may be the starting point for England to start the "good results mode" in major events. How do you feel when the team continues this momentum after that?

Yes, we were so close to winning the championship in 2018, and the young men also got closer many times in the following years. So when I watch them play, I am always very nervous. Although they are all one step behind in the end, you will still look forward to the team going all the way to the end and winning the championship in the future.

When did you first receive news from Thomas Tuchel? Is it before this week? What did you talk about at that time?

No. I received a notice before the weekend saying “Be ready, England is considering calling you”. So I was always ready, but I wasn't on the initial list. There was a game in AC Milan on Friday, and I had a few days after the game to go back to my country to reunite with my family, so I was in England during that time. I then received a call saying that I would be recruited to join the national team. That feeling is really great.

Can you tell me specifically where you were when you received the call? What was said on the phone? Did Thomas Tuchel call it himself?

No, at first Ruth sent me a text message asking me "Where are you?" - maybe she thought I would go out for vacation on a few days off. I replied, "I'm in England" and she said, "It's great." Actually, I was with my mother at that time, right at my mother's house. So that feels really good. He can accompany his mother and receive good news.

Then what was your mother's reaction? Do you hang up and say to her, "I'm going to return to England"?

Actually, I wasn't sure at the beginning (can be selected), so I didn't say it immediately. I waited until the message was confirmed before I shared the news with her.

When Thomas Tuchel was appointed England head coach, did you think "this might be an opportunity for me"? In addition, you said you played many positions when you were at Chelsea. Do you still remember which ones you played specifically?

When Tuchel first arrived at Chelsea, I was still playing on loan at Fulham. It was a season after I was injured and it took me a year to slowly get back to shape. Later I returned to Chelsea and Tuchel was already in the team. Actually, I didn’t know much about him as a coach at that time, and after I came back, I followed Chelsea to participate in the preseason. It was at that time that he talked to me about letting me play right wingback, but in addition to that, I also played No. 6 and No. 8, and even played in a central defender in one game, and of course the right wingback. So under his hands, I have indeed played many positions.

When he was appointed as the head coach of England, did you think "this might be possible"?

may be a little bit. After all, I have worked with him, he knows my style of playing football, and I have also gained a lot of opportunities to play under him. So I thought at the time that as long as I perform well, maybe I have a chance. But I play in the Italian League One after all, and there may not be many people in England paying attention to the League One. But I know that the coach will definitely focus on all the players who play overseas, so I think that as long as I play well, I might get a chance.

I am still curious about how it feels to work with Max Allegri?

He is also a very smart coach, and has extremely rich experience and has won many championships in the past. So when he joined this summer, I was very excited. Hopefully we can achieve some good results this season. And the situation in Milan is also very exciting. New players have been introduced in the transfer window, so this season should be very good.

Of this time, 10 of the 25 people were born or raised in London, you are one of them. It is actually a good thing to see the coach so passionate and support the team so much. But usually he is very calm in the locker room or training ground.

He also has a very honest evaluation of the players in public, and I believe the same is true in front of the players, right? You should appreciate this honesty, right?

Of course. I think this is the right way – as a player, all you can ask for is honesty. Whether it is good words or criticism, as long as it is sincere, it should be said.

Do you think there are any major changes in St. George's Park (England Training Base) from 2018 to now? After I came back, I felt that most of the places here had not changed, but there were some minor adjustments in the location of the restaurant, and the others were basically the same as before. So there is no big change, but this kind of "unchanged" is actually very good, and it feels like you have never left it before. Moreover, when I was in the youth team, I stayed here for many years and spent a lot of time here. So it feels really great to be back here.