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Joe Gomez has announced that his comeback to St George’s Park with the English team after a three and a half year absence marks the end of a challenging time in his professional journey, which took a toll on him emotionally.
The defender for Liverpool has returned to the international stage after a successful season. He has been chosen by Gareth Southgate to be part of the final squad for Euro 2024, before he selects the 23 players for the tournament.
In November 2020, while on a trip with the England team, Gomez suffered an injury to his knee tendons. This resulted in him undergoing surgery and being out of the game for eight months. Sadly, he was unable to make a return to Southgate’s squad for almost four years.
Gomez has returned to consideration and believes he has moved on from the previous injury – even prior to the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.
When asked about returning to the same training field where he got injured, he admitted that it had a psychological impact.
Unfortunately, I had to suddenly leave the training field in an ambulance. This experience was very significant to me. Even yesterday, simply going through the warm up was a meaningful moment. It was gratifying to feel like I was able to move on from that situation without being overly dramatic.
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Injuries are inevitable in this game, but the sudden and unexpected manner in which it occurred, and not having the opportunity to return, was difficult to cope with.
Being a part of the group and saying goodbye to that chapter in my life has been a significant experience.
Southgate has consistently shown a fondness for Gomez, who frequently featured in his squad during his time as manager of the under-21s team.
In 2017, Southgate also gave the 26-year-old his first chance to play for the senior team. Gomez is thrilled to be back in the mix once more.
“I was around 22 years old during that time, and being absent from the England squad for such a long period of time allowed me to gain a new perspective as I grew older.”
I am grateful for that aspect of the experience and I can utilize it to comprehend that there is much happening.
Being selected to play for England is a great privilege and also comes with a lot of expectations. However, it’s important to recognize that being here is something to be grateful for and not something that is required. It is a significant honor.
During my time with the team, Gareth has been supportive and helpful. He even chose me for my debut, which was a great moment and allowed me to reconnect with him. Now, I am focused on returning to my role with the team.
“Gareth’s great in that sense on an individual basis, keeping in touch and speaking to the players.
“It’s almost unbelievable to be back after four years, which is quite a significant amount of time. I have most likely passed a considerable portion of that time yearning to be back in the game, witnessing the team’s success, and having a taste of it when I was younger was truly remarkable.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t spend time thinking that I wanted to be back with the boys and playing at this level. It has given me a new appreciation to be here, a different perspective now I know the flip side.”
Source: independent.co.uk
