Rushesha raring to go after 10 months on sidelines

CARDIFF - Swansea City defender Tivonge Rushesha is thrilled to be back in action after making his return following a 10-month spell on the sidelines recovering from a second ACL injury.

Zimbabwe-born Rushesha has been with the Swansea City academy since Under-12 level, and went on to make his senior debut at the age of just 17 years and 35 days old in the Carabao Cup win over Cambridge in 2019.

However, his 2020-21 season was cut short due to an ACL injury in December 2020, but he fought back to lead the development side for much of the 2021-22 campaign, catching the eye in the middle centre-back role and winning the under-23s' player of the season award.

However, injury struck again and he has had to work diligently to recover once more. The 21-year-old was able to get back out on the pitch for the under-21s' recent victories against Watford and Colchester, and hopes his injury misfortunes are behind him.

“I tore my ACL in my left leg last April, so I was out for 10 months. I had my operation on my knee two weeks later," said Rushesha.

“My first ACL injury was back in December 2020 and, after I recovered, I was back for seven months before being out again.

“It’s been a long process without being on the pitch, but I’ve been working hard in the gym, on myself and on the training pitch when I can.

“It was tough, because all I wanted to do was to play football. I’ve done my ACL before and I was also out for a long term, so I kind of knew what to expect, I knew what to look out for and I knew what to avoid.

“It went a bit smoother than last time because I have experienced it before, but it’s still not a pleasant process to go through.

“Mentally it was tough, but so many people helped me through it. The staff have been so supportive and great."

Rushesha is contracted to Swansea City until at least the end of the season after putting pen to paper on a one-year extension during his first injury setback two years ago.

He signed his first professional contract in January 2020 having risen through the ranks at the club.

Although Rushesha has played youth football with Wales’ national age-group teams, he has previously declared his desire to be part of the Zimbabwe senior national team in the future. swanseacity. com