Clarets striker Sam Vokes stepping up recovery from surgery

The footballer’s beverage of choice used to be Isotonic Lucozade Sport, as advertised by John Barnes.

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These days it tends to be nutritional ‘shakes’, in all manner of sweet flavours.

“I do like my green tea,” said Vokes in response to my queries about whether he drank it through choice or necessity.

“It does help though, you’ve got to stay healthy.”

It is all part of an ongoing process to get his season up and running.

After playing such a big part in Burnley’s promotion as Championship runners-up – contributing 20 league goals – he has yet to kick his first Premier League ball this term. Vokes ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the early stages of the Clarets’ home game with ultimate champions Leicester City and has been on the long road to recovery ever since.

But, speaking six months to the day since he had surgery in London, the 6ft 1ins striker is seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I’m starting to step things up a lot, working a lot more outside with the fitness guys,” said Vokes, who turns 25 this month.

“It’s just like my pre-season, running every day, working hard, shooting. Everything really.

“I do bits and bobs with the lads but I’ve not joined in a full session yet.

“It’s hard to put timescales on things but I’ll probably aim to do that in about three or four weeks and then step up from there.

“That’s a big marker.

“There are a few things I need to tick off first in terms of strengthening my knee so that they’re equal on both sides, and then when I can do that I can start joining in.

“The muscles around the knee are a massive thing.

“That’s why I’m spending a lot of time in the gym now building up the muscles because when both legs are equal that’s kind of go-ahead to kick-on outside.”

Vokes is not prepared to compromise on his rehabilitation.

“I know players who have tried to rush the injury and tried to come back after four or five months and re-do the same injury,” he said.

“That’s not something I want to think about.”

It was painful enough the first time.

“I definitely knew I’d done something bad,” added Vokes, recalling the innocuous incident which forced him to go to ground close to the dugouts against Leicester.

“At the time it was excruciating pain for about 30 seconds and then suddenly the pain just went and I said to Ally (Beattie), the physio, I think I can go back on.

“I tried jogging and it was wobbling all over the place.

“That’s when I realised I’d done something bad.”

Southampton-born Vokes was fortunate that his family were already there for support, although it wasn’t the weekend of celebration they had planned.

“It was Mother’s Day weekend so it put a bit of a downer on things for my mum,” he said.

“I had the scan on the Monday and it revealed what I’d done.”

Facing an early end to his season and delayed start to the next was daunting enough, but the former Wolves front man had never experienced surgery before.

After a few nights in hospital, and confirmation from the surgeon that there would be a six to nine-month recovery period, Vokes returned to the north west for a minimum of three weeks’ complete rest.

He acquainted himself with daytime television.

I got addicted to ‘Homes Under the Hammer’, which sounds a bit sad, but that was my thing.

“It got me thinking about property developing. That’s something I’m quite interested in.

“I got through my box sets too.

“Homeland was one of the big ones, and Scandal on series link.”

His first post-op venture out of the house after coming out of hospital was a landmark day in more ways than one, as he saw Burnley clinch a Premier League place with victory over Wigan.

“There were a lot of emotions floating about at the time and I remember doing the lap of honour and going back into the dressing room and everyone said how pale I looked. My girlfriend ran out to get me a Mars bar to try to lift the sugar,” he smiled.

“It was the fans’ fault for getting me to do the dance for the (Ingsy-Vokesy) song.

“You can’t not join in with it though!

“I made it round the pitch after about an hour I think.

“It was the first time I’d moved from the sofa. But I couldn’t miss out on it.”

There was further surgery in the summer, a scheduled shoulder operation after he had played on following a minor dislocation at Millwall in early November, but it was only possible when he no longer needed crutches to get around.

“I was in a brace with my knee and had a sling on my arm for about six weeks,” said Vokes, conjuring up images of a wounded cartoon character.

“I looked a bit bizarre walking round the Trafford Centre.

“It was all down my left side.

“It was a bit strange, just a weird feeling, especially sleeping at night because I had to keep my arm in one place and my knee in the same place. It was a bit irritating.

“But it was one of those things.”

Vokes is surprisingly matter of fact about his ailments.

Rather than worry about things he can’t change, he has poured all of his energy into coming back fitter and stronger, and doing so much to put Burnley in the Premier League, play his part in helping them stay there.

“Even at the time you don’t get too down about it, probably because of everything happening at the club at the time as well, which helps.

“It was a good place to be around so that lifted my spirits,” he said.

“Having surgery was a weird thing because I hadn’t been through anything like that before, but coming back after that it was good to be around the place again, even though I was hobbling around on my crutches.

“Pre-season was the main time I got back in with the lads and it was great for the gaffer to have me involved in the trip to Austria.

“I couldn’t really do a great deal but it was great to be around them.

“It was boiling hot and the gaffer had them running up and down the hills of Austria and running back to the hotel.

“I did a lot of stuff on the bike there and throughout the summer because I wasn’t able to put weight through it.

“Back at Gawthorpe I’d be on the spinning bikes.

“I was laughing at them doing all the runs, but that’s the place I’m at now so they can do that with me.”

Vokes added: “I’ve progressed really well without any problems so far.

“The gaffer’s been really good with me because I think he went through something similar in his career with injuries so I think he knows it takes its time.

“I’ve spoken to a few people, lads down at Wales who have had a similar injury.

“And obviously Jay Rodriguez I’ve kept in close touch with because he’s a similar timescale as me as well.

“It’s been good to be able to talk to him about things. He’s level-headed, similar to me, we’ve got our heads down and cracked on with it.

“He did his two weeks after me so we’re at a similar stage.

“When I first did it the surgeon said to me it’s a six to nine-month turnaround.

“He said if you can get your head around new year then anything before that’s a bonus.

“That’s kind of what I’ve gone on.

“I look to be progressing well but I’m not going to get ahead of myself. Whatever timescale it will be it will be.”

Privately, he has an idea of when he could make his comeback.

But until that day comes, those moments before kick-off are still the hardest for Vokes to bear.

“You see the lads getting up for it and that’s where you want to be at the end of the day, getting ready for the sort of games that we’ve had,” he said.

“This is a big goal. Premier League football is something to look forward to and I can’t wait to get back involved.”