Peltier powers back, months ahead of schedule
FROM a dead cert in Neil Warnock’s Cardiff City side, to suffering a serious ankle surgery, it’s been an eventful season for Lee Peltier.
The full back, previously a trusted Warnock lieutenant, has had to fight his way through the pain barrier to reclaim his place at right back.
Peltier’s return has come sooner than expected and Warnock revealed the former Liverpool trainee could have been reintroduced even earlier if the gaffer hadn’t shackled him to a strict rehabilitation programme.
Both men were keen to ensure the 30-year-old’s ankle injury was completely eradicated in time for next season but a surprise return for Peltier against Nottingham Forest was met with predictable applause at Cardiff City Stadium. He is way ahead of schedule and the Bluebirds fans are delighted to have him back.
His 10-week absence saw Jazz Richards and Joe Bennett emerge as first choice picks, offering a forward threat that is in contrast to Peltier’s rock-solid safety-first approach.
“Everyone’s fighting for places and I think competition in the team is very good,” said Peltier when asked if the emergence of others had made him fret for his place in the side, previously a guarantee under Warnock and his two predecessors, Paul Trollope and Russell Slade.
Was Peltier envious of Richards and Bennett, who were taking their chances in his absence? Was he fearful about the new players who will surely arrive in the summer to bolster the Bluebirds squad?
When your manager is mentioning your name in the same sentence as the phrase “best right back in the league”, there is little cause for concern.
“There’s a good team spirit in the dressing room,” Peltier added.
“There’s no jealousy or anything like that. It will be good to get some fresh faces in and see what happens.
“I believe in my own ability and I’ve been in many dressing rooms where a lot of players have come in. At Leicester, big stars were coming in. You’ve just got to believe in yourself and keep working hard.”
The full back announced his return with a typically reliable 60-minute display against Forest.
It was only Cardiff’s third 1-0 victory of the season. All three have come under Warnock and, tellingly, all three have come with Peltier in the starting 11.
That’s the kind of player the manager wants by his side next season. Eager, committed, motivated; not afraid to do the dirty work while others provide the glossy finish.
Hence Peltier’s return to the team in a bid for competitive football before the pre-season lull. If – as was expected – Peltier remained sidelined for the season, he’d have gone more than six months without competitive football.
“The gaffer’s been telling me not to push it but I’ve been wanting to come back in the squad,” he added.
“If I’d have left it, it would have been a long time from when I’d been injured until pre-season so I didn’t want to be out that long.
“I’ve been training for a week and the gaffer pulled me in and said: ‘I’m thinking of playing you, how do you feel?’ I said I feel fine but I didn’t know how long I could give it. I got 60 minutes and I was happy with the 60 minutes I got.
“The (original) plan was to get through it and get it sorted at the end of the season but against Preston my ankle just locked up, and I thought ‘enough is enough.’
“I went to see the surgeon and he operated on it straight away. It was quite a big operation so I was glad to get it sorted. I feel good and I’m just trying to get myself back fit.”
Cardiff maintained the integrity of the Championship with a resolute display to deny struggling Forest any points on Easter Monday.
And if any one player was emblematic of the Bluebirds’ refusal to allow complacency to drift into their performances, it was Peltier.
“There’s a lot of teams playing for stuff out there and it’s going right down to the wire so it would be unfair for us to down tools,” he said.
“As you’ve seen, the lads are giving everything and that’s how we’ll finish. “Peltier admitted mimicking Manchester United’s Ander Herrera and his expert man-marking job on Chelsea’s Eden Hazard that stole the headlines on Easter Sunday in Cardiff’s game against Forest. In this case it was Mustapha Carayol offering a rapid threat on the left wing, but Peltier was more than his match.
“He is a quick player but I stayed tight to him all game and I thought I did well against him,” added the Scouser.
“It was more of a man-to-man job, like you saw in Man U against Chelsea. I was happy with what I’ve done.”
Peltier’s performance was selfless and uncomplicated, which is so often the case. He’s never afraid to sacrifice himself for his team.