To call Corry Evans’ 2020 his own personal annus horribilis would be an understatement.
The Blackburn Rovers endured a five month layoff after suffering a fractured skull and shattered eye socket in a horrific injury against Preston in January.
The shocking pictures that emerged of Evans’ bruised face wouldn’t have looked out of place in a 1960s Hammer Horror film.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the 30-year-old fractured a big toe on his return to action in June, a painful setback that ended his season.
Add in Covid-19, the constraints of lockdown and uncertainty of a global pandemic and it has been a year to forget so far for the Northern Ireland midfielder.
“Hopefully I can get a bit more luck now,” said Evans ahead of tomorrow night’s Nations League clash with Romania in Bucharest.
“Obviously it has been a difficult year and it didn’t help with the whole pandemic going on, but I’m back now and feeling good again.
“The surgeon did a great job (on skull and eye socket) and I was just beginning my rehab back on the grass when we went into lockdown which disrupted things.
“I had to keep myself ticking over at home, which is always difficult, but I was determined to get back playing again.
“I broke my toe which ended my season, but I’m back on the pitch doing what I love again.
“I’ve only played one game since January, so I’m looking forward to getting back, especially with Northern Ireland.”
Evans, a key component of Michael O’Neill’s plans for key games, is confident the national team can kick on under new boss Ian Baraclough.
There’s still plenty to target before the end of the year, with next month’s Euro playoff in Bosnia shimmering on the horizon.
Asked if it’s possible to build on what O’Neill - who led Northern Ireland to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 - achieved, Evans said: “Of course it’s possible.
“Obviously we’ll miss Michael and be forever grateful for what he did for this team and the country, but the players who had that experience know we have to carry it on.
“I’m sure ‘Bara’ knows that as well, he’s going to rely on the older heads in the squad to keep that team DNA, if you like, to keep driving us forward.
“I’m 30 now, but I still feel I have a lot of football left in me and I’m determined to keep that continuity going to help the team progress.”
