Positive vibes helped Tyler beat injury blues
WALES striker Tyler Roberts admits he never doubted his ability after suffering a season-ending injury just days after joining Leeds United.
The 19-year-old joined the Whites from West Brom on transfer deadline day in January but suffered a cracked shin in training shortly after making the move to Elland Road.
The injury ensured he would miss the remainder of the 2017-18 campaign, with Roberts having to wait until August to make his competitive debut for his new club.
Roberts has been a key figure in Leeds’ impressive start to the current season under Marcelo Bielsa, scoring three times in eight Championship appearances.
And the Welsh youngster admits he always felt confident that the opportunity to shine would come his way once he had fully recovered from the injury.
“To sign for a new club and be injured straight away for a long period was difficult but I had good people around me and, now that I’m playing again, I’m grateful for the opportunities, and I’m hoping to score more goals,” he said.
“I always tried to stay positive and hopeful that, when I did come back, I’d get my chances.
“That’s what pushed me through it. Everyone was positive around me. I never doubted myself.
“It’s been a big transition (under Bielsa), a massive culture change but I think it’s helped everybody and it’s going well.”
In addition to his exploits at club level, the 2018-19 season has also seen Roberts make his international debut along with his first start for Wales.
Having replaced Gareth Bale in the 4-1 win over Republic of Ireland in September, Roberts then led the line from the outset in the reverse fixture against Martin O’neill’s side in Dublin last month.
He’s once again been included in Ryan Giggs’ squad for the games against Denmark and Albania and will hope to add to his tally of three caps during the current international break.
And Roberts believes advice from the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey is helping him continue his rise under Giggs and Bielsa. “It’s been crazy really. “Over the past six months, progressing fast with Wales and I’m just grateful for every opportunity,” he added.
“I think that the warming stage has gone now and I need to be a player who’s just involved in the squad, and hopefully I can get many more callups, many more minutes and be a big part of it. “It’s a massive learning curve. “You have to kind of remember sometimes they (Bale and Ramsey) are your team-mates.
What you expect from them they expect from you. It’s great to learn from them.
“They’ve told me just to be myself and, on the pitch, to be comfortable with playing with them sort of players. It’s not something where I need to be scared. Just be myself and confident.”
While he is continuing to learn from those in the Welsh set-up, Roberts has revealed that Brazilian star Ronaldo was one of his heroes during his childhood. Although, somewhat surprisingly, Roberts did not actually follow a particular football team in his younger days. “I did like Brazilian Ronaldo. He was a massive player and still is now – I still go on Youtube and watch clips of him and try and imitate what he does,” added the youngster.
“I didn’t actually support a team. A lot of people have asked me this but I was the type of kid who just loved watching football and couldn’t stick to one team. I just followed football.”
Victory over Denmark at Cardiff City Stadium will see Wales gain promotion into League A in the newlyformed Nations League.
It will also give them a shot at the Nations League play-offs which would prove to be a second chance at earning a ticket to Euro 2020 should they fail to reach the tournament via the regular qualifying format.
And Roberts is under no illusions as to how big a victory over the Danes would be for the country. “It’s a massive game. “Everyone’s focused in training and we can’t wait to get started now,” he added.
“I think it (a win) would send a message out that we are becoming a bigger country and we can compete with the top countries in the world.
“Showing our ability and showing we can beat teams like Denmark would be massive for us.”