BIG RETURN IS HEAVENLY FOR JUNIOR
BOURNEMOUTH ace Junior Stanislas has revealed how his faith and former Portsmouth defender Linvoy Primus helped him through his injury torment.
Stanislas spent six months on the sidelines with a knee problem but is now hoping to line up against Crystal Palace tonight.
The midfielder marked his first start since March with a goal in the Cherries’ Carabao Cup win over Blackburn last week and celebrated by pointing to the heavens.
Stanislas said: “Coming back after being out for so long is a great feeling.
“It’s been frustrating, difficult, but I have worked hard and it is good to be back now.
“My faith has helped me a lot, through the good and bad times.
“Every morning I wake up, I pray and when I go out on the pitch, I make the sign of the cross and point to the skies when I score a goal.
“I went to church a lot when I was younger and so I’ve built up a bond with God and it’s grown from there really.
“That side of it has been good and has helped me get back fit.”
Stanislas says Primus also helped keep his spirits up during his lay-off.
He added: “Linvoy comes in and he has helped me a lot when I was feeling a bit down.
“Adam Parrett, our new chaplain, has helped as well – he comes in and exchanges text messages with a few of the other lads like Jermain Defoe and Marc Pugh. It is all positive stuff.
“My family has helped me a lot, too. I have two boys and when you have got young kids it takes your mind off things.”
Stanislas knows he faces a battle to win back his place in the Bournemouth team after Eddie Howe’s men made an impressive start to the season, with just two defeats in their first six games.
He added: “The boys that have been playing have done really well, so it will be hard to get a spot in the starting line-up, but obviously it would be nice to play against Palace.”
Eagles boss Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, claims he is not worried about being over reliant on Wilfried Zaha’s goals.
Palace have scored only four goals from six Premier League games this season
– and three of those have come from their talisman, Zaha.
But Hodgson said: “It’s true Wilf ’s got the lion’s share but we haven’t scored many either, so it’s a small number of goals.
“You don’t take every chance you create. But as long as you are creating those chances and getting in those positions, the goals will come.”