Chelsea star Armando Broja has revealed how his knee injury came as a 'big shock' to him this season and outlined how team-mate Ben Chilwell has helped him during his recovery. The Albanian striker sustained a long-term injury during the first half of a friendly against Aston Villa during the World Cup break in December.
Before his injury, Broja scored once and provided one assist in 286 minutes of action and has had to watch the Blues struggle in the second half of the season. The 21-year-old has now opened up on how the injury impacted him mentally and what Chilwell has done to help the striker during his recovery.
Speaking to the official Chelsea website, Broja said: "I still haven’t got my head fully around it. It does play on your mind.
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"It was a big shock because I have always been quite a healthy lad, and have had just had a few minor injuries here and there. It was an even bigger shock to my mum and dad, because they have so rarely seen me injured.
"After surgery, I was bedridden for about two weeks. It was one of the worst times of my life. It was horrible. I couldn’t get out of bed. My mum was running round the house to get me tablets and give me my food. It was a struggle. You almost feel useless. You want to be able to do stuff, but you just can’t.
"I couldn’t sleep. I was in pain. The day and what happened played on my mind constantly. I was thinking about ways I could have avoided it, even though I knew that wasn’t a good thing to do.
"I had to take a step back from that. It was something I had to move past, start just focusing on getting back fit. As they say, the comeback is going to be better than the setback."
Chilwell had suffered the same injury as Broja earlier in his career at Stamford Bridge but has bounced back and proven to be a crucial player for the Blues. "Ben Chilwell has helped me out massively,’ Broja added.
"He has spoken to me from the moment it happened until now. Only today we had a conversation about it.
"He’s been through it. He knows exactly how it feels, the pressure, the mental side of things. He’s been helping me every step. He doesn’t have to, but he goes out of his way to talk to me, and help me, so a big thanks to him.
"I watch him now and he’s flying, he’s in good shape, playing well. He’s told me I’m going to come back stronger. It’s good to hear from someone who has been through it."
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