Corry’s comeback
Evans aims for 60th cap in Romania after long fight to recover from injury
FROM painful beginnings, Corry Evans is now hoping his 2020 can finish with a major lift.
The 30-year-old Blackburn Rovers ace was floored in January when he suffered a fractured skull and shattered eye socket against Preston.
In June he made a remarkable comeback but it didn’t last long courtesy of a fractured big toe.
The Covid-19 pandemic also arrived to curtail his recovery and not surprisingly he’s aiming to finish a turbulent year on a positive note.
Back on Northern Ireland duty, the former Manchester United youngster is excited about the new set-up as Ian Baraclough looks to build on Michael O’neill’s astonishing progress.
Tomorrow night’s Nations League clash in Romania and the home battle with Norway on Monday are important matches, as preparations gather pace for the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Bosnia-herzegovina in the Stadio Bilino Polje in Zenica on October 8.
Northern Ireland are two games away from back-to-back appearances at the finals of the European Championships and the players hope confidence and morale will still be high going into that tough assignment.
Evans, hoping to win his 60th cap in the behind-closed-doors game in Romania, is simply happy to be back on the pitch after a year which has been mentally and physically challenging.
“Obviously it’s been a difficult year and it didn’t help with the whole pandemic going on,” reflected Evans, who made his Northern Ireland debut against Italy in the summer of 2009.
“Thankfully the surgeon did a great job and I’m back on the pitch doing what I love.
“It was just as I was beginning my rehab back on the grass that we got into lockdown so it disrupted it in that way. I had to keep myself ticking over at home, which is always difficult.
“But I was determined to get back and I did get back and play in the first game after the restart — and then broke my toe in that game, so that finished the rest of my season unfortunately.
“I’m back now, feeling good again, and hopefully I can have a bit more luck now.
“Personally I’m not worried about the travelling. I’m looking forward to the game. I’ve only played one match this season, the whole year, so I’m looking forward to getting back on the pitch, especially for Northern Ireland. The last game we played was Germany in November. It’s nice to see all the lads and the new manager — we’re all looking forward to it.”
The Blackburn ace is pleased to see the club’s first-team technical coach and head of player development, Damien Johnson, added to the ranks.
“He’s a really good coach, all the lads at Blackburn value him very highly as a coach,” added Evans.
“We enjoy his sessions. It’s nice to have him come along here and I think he’ll be good for us going forward in the national set-up.”
Former Under-21 boss Baraclough, like any manager, will be judged on results, but it feels like many pieces of the Northern Ireland jigsaw are already in place.
Mark Sykes’ decision to opt for the Republic of Ireland was a disappointing setback but the squad isn’t starved of midfield options.
The mentality, atmosphere and belief among the group hasn’t changed and Evans is confident Northern Ireland’s fortunes will not take a battering.
“It’s always exciting when a new manager comes i n, a
‘I’ve only played one match this season, the whole year, so I’m looking forward to getting back on the pitch’ Corry Evans
bit of the unknown — but I’ve known Ian from the Under-21s, he was with the senior squad a few times,” he added. “The lads know him, the younger boys in the squad know him from the 21s. Everyone’s enjoying it.
“Of course it’s possible to build on what Michael achieved. Obviously we’ll miss Michael and be forever grateful for what he did for this team and the country.
“But us players who had that experience now have to carry it on. I’m sure Bara will 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 and once you get to 30 it’s downhill from there! No, I still feel I have a lot of football left in me. Hopefully I can use my experiences in the international arena, I’ve been around squads for a long time now, to try and keep that continuity going and help the team to progress.”
Evans, who spent his early days at Greenisland Boys, admits the Nations League concept can be difficult to grasp at times but he understands the importance of this double-header before the high-stakes battle in Bosnia.
“It’s always important to win games but, truth be told, it still sort of baffles me how it actually works,” he added. “We’ve managed to get ourselves a play-off next month from it so we need to make sure we approach the games in the right manner.
“The manager will be looking at it as well to try to find a team he wants in his style, the personnel he might want to play in these games. It’s good preparation going into next month.”
Evans, ludicrously punished for a handball that never was in the World Cup play-off loss to Switzerland in 2017, is due some luck towards the end of what has been a challenging year.