Mandela Egbo says he has been relishing his return from injury and his recent appearances back in the Charlton defence.
The right-back, who sustained a quad injury during October’s 4-4 thriller against Ipswich Town, underwent surgery and a long rehabilitation period but has finally made it back to playing for the first team.
“It feels amazing just being able to train with the lads, get back out on the grass,” he said. “The weather’s getting nice as well, so being able to run out there and smell the grass and the fresh air, it’s a big difference to being in the physio room and the gym for the past few months. So I’m very happy to be back out there.”
The number 18 made his return to the starting lineup in the Addicks’ 3-2 victory over Burton Albion earlier this month.
“It felt like kind of carrying on where I left off,” he said. “It was good to be back out there, in amongst it with the lads. That build up to games when you’re about to get a start or when you’re about to play, it’s just a different buzz. So it was nice to be back out there, and nice to get the win.
“It was a comprehensive victory. Although it was 3-2, it was a lot more comfortable than it seems. We made it a bit difficult towards the end. It was good to be back out there with Jes [Rak-Sakyi] doing his magic.”
Egbo is determined to end the season on a high ahead of the next campaign, in which Dean Holden says the team will be aiming for promotion.
“We’re trying to finish strong, and we’ve got a good opportunity to go out and get a good amount of points. We’ll be looking at winning every single game,” said Egbo.
“We had a bit of a tough one a week ago against Ipswich but we bounced back from that so it’s all about ending the season strong with nine points, going into the summer with confidence and then coming back next year with one goal in mind.”
(Article by Jamie Barton)
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