HEALING AFTER INJURY HORROR
Itten reveals how he returned stronger after a devastating setback to become the striker who caught Gerrard’s eye...
CONFRONTED by the darkest moment of his career, Cedric Itten could have been consumed by anger or self-pity.
Rangers’ new £2.5million striker chose a different path. One which turned all the pain and frustration into strength. The brutal infliction of cruciate ligament damage ultimately became a platform upon which he built a better version of himself.
These injuries can often occur in innocuous circumstances, but that was far from the case for Itten. Then a 21-year-old firmly on the rise with St Gallen, he was the victim of what Swiss media described as a ‘horror challenge’ from Lugano defender Fabio Daprela in a league fixture in September 2018. Daprela was later condemned to a six-match ban on the basis of television evidence.
St Gallen were understandably furious about the assault that forced their rising star into a lengthy period of rehabilitation on his right knee. For Itten, there was obvious concern about what lay ahead.
As it was, the Basel-born player answered every question emphatically. Working tirelessly in the gym to improve his physique, Itten also believes he developed a tougher mentality from enduring such a testing experience.
Reward for his intense efforts swiftly followed. Scoring 19 times in 34 league appearances for St Gallen last season helped him earn his first two senior caps for Switzerland. It also persuaded Steven Gerrard that Itten can become a valuable addition to his attacking armoury.
‘I couldn’t play for seven months,’ reflected the 23-year-old, who made his Ibrox debut as a substitute in Sunday’s 3-0 win over St Mirren.
‘I had to work a lot on my body and learn a lot, about how my knee works and everything else.
‘It was a very hard time to only be able to watch football and not help the team. But I worked a lot on my body and also mentally to make sure I was ready when I came back. I think I learned a lot to keep up that level of work for the rest of my career.
‘At the time it was difficult. I knew it would probably be an ACL injury because I felt the pain. Also, with the way the tackle was.
‘But I tried to keep going and say to myself that I had this time to work on myself and get better. You don’t usually have seven months to just work on you.
‘I was very happy that I came back like I did. I felt really strong. When I came back, I was immediately able to play again and then I got my first experience with the national team. Everything went well and I think I made progress in that time.’
Itten has made a strong first impression on Gerrard. Speaking at the weekend, the Ibrox boss predicted he would be a ‘big player’ for the club on the evidence of his early training sessions.
‘It’s very nice of him to say that about me,’ smiled Itten. ‘It’s a big honour. I think the manager expects to see me play the same way as I did at St Gallen. That’s why they brought me here.’
Standing 6ft 2ins tall, Itten is a powerful option for Gerrard. There is, however, one obvious problem in terms of earning a regular start: Alfredo Morelos.
The Colombian looked back to his old self when scoring twice on Sunday, with no sign yet of a predicted transfer coming to fruition.
‘Morelos is a big player for this club,’ said Itten. ‘He has scored many goals for Rangers. I will try to learn from him, connect with him. Perhaps we play together.
‘Competition is good. It’s always important to have good players and that is the way to get better.’
Although still relatively young, Itten brings experience beyond that character-building injury.
In 2015-16, he emerged from the youth ranks at Basel to feature 11 times in a campaign which secured the club’s seventh successive Swiss Super League title. That provided an early grounding in the kind of demands inherent at Ibrox.
‘Like Rangers, Basel is a big club where there is always expectation from the fans,’ said Itten.
‘It was nice to win the title in my first season with the pros. We also played in the Champions League and Europa League, so I have a little bit of experience of that environment as well.
‘Clearly, there is also a big expectation at Rangers because this is a huge club.’
Repeating that title success this season might require getting the better of an old friend. Itten goes way back with fellow Swiss international Albian Ajeti, who is on the brink of joining Celtic on loan from West Ham United.
‘We played a lot of youth football together,’ said Itten. ‘We had ten years at Basel to go to the first team together. We have also been in the national team squad. I have heard about it (Ajeti joining Celtic) but I haven’t spoken to him yet.’
Itten hopes life in Glasgow will advance his claims for further international recognition. Switzerland face Nations League games against Germany, Spain and Ukraine this year and have already qualified for next summer’s postponed Euro 2020 finals.
‘I’m happy that I have made two appearances (for Switzerland) but I think to play for Rangers can help a lot to be in the squad,’ he said. ‘It is up to me to work hard and try to play here. Hopefully, after that I can also be with the national team.’
I didn’t play for seven months. I worked hard on my body and also mentally