A FINE BRO-MANCE
MAX REVEALS HOW SHARED EXPERIENCES RECOVERING FROM NIGHTMARE INJURIES HELPED HIM GET BACK FIT AND FIRING
COVENTRY City have suffered seven ACL injuries in the last three seasons but the injury crisis has seen some close friendships strike up in the Sky Blues camp, Max Biamou has revealed.
City’s very own flashy Frenchman marked his return to Mark Robins’ starting XI on Saturday by scoring what his teammates have already decided will be a goal of the season contender.
Liam Kelly’s delicate loft into the area was met with a ferocious and acrobatic volley from Biamou that was destined for the back of the net from the moment it left his boot.
The goal was his first since he scored in City’s famous 4-1 play-off semi-final win against Notts County in May 2018.
He has had to fight back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that left him sidelined for almost a year and even after proving his fitness to Robins he was still left behind Matty Godden, Jordy Hiwula and Amadou Bakayoko in the pecking order.
Any footballer will tell you that a longterm injury lay-off can prove to be one the most mentally challenging and loneliest periods of their careers but things have been a little different at Coventry’s Ryton-on-Dunsmore base. Biamou, Jodi Jones, Dan Bartlett, Reise Allassani and, more recently, Wesley Jobello have all suffered similar injuries during their time with the Sky Blues and have all found themselves feeding off each other for much needed support.
And as the oldest of the five, the 29-yearold Biamou has proven to be somewhat of a father figure for the younger boys.
“I used to talk with Jodi all the time, Wesley now,” Biamou told the Coventry Telegraph. “This is Wesley’s third time but I spoke with
Jodi and Dan because that’s a very hard moment for them. To be out for nine months or up to a year, that is very hard.
“It is probably even worse for Jodi, because it is the second time he has done the same injury.”
Jones was fast becoming the main man at Coventry when he was struck down with the injury during the second half of a Tuesday night trip to Stevenage in 2017.
But the duo have been side by side in their recovery and the Frenchman, who is six years Jones’ senior, has made sure to keep an arm around his teammate, determined to see him return to the side at his once brilliant best.
“I told him to just be positive and he will come back stronger,” he said.
“I said: ‘Everyone knows you are a really good player, so just believe in yourself.’”
To be out for nine months or up to a year, that is very hard. It is probably even more for Jodi, because it is the second time Max Biamou