Aysnley Pears has opened up on his recovery from injury after breaking two metatarsals against Leicester City.
The Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper has been out injured for six weeks with a foot problem, caused by Jamie Vardy on October 1. The 25-year-old hobbled off after his foot was stood on by the former England striker.
Pears had initially been ruled out for a month but remains a few weeks away from being in contention to start in goal. It's been a frustrating period on the sidelines for the goalkeeper, who has been busy in the gym preparing himself for a return to the grass.
Leopold Wahlstedt has deputised in goal in Pears' absence and will be hopeful of keeping the number one shirt. Jon Dahl Tomasson has often kept faith with the player that 'has the shirt', with Pears keeping Thomas Kaminski on the bench in similar circumstances last season.
READ MORE: Wahlstedt has shown Rovers glimpses as GK battles resumes
Opening up on the injury, Pears explained the complications of the foot injury and how he has been trying to improve his physical conditioning in the gym whilst being unable to dive around.
“It was a one-on-one with [Jamie] Vardy and he stepped on my foot, which got stuck in the ground,” Pears told RoversTV.
“It was a freak, an impact injury where all my body weight went one way and my foot didn’t move. Something’s got to give and two of them did, I suppose!
“I’ve got two little breaks of my metatarsal. They’re only small, but they’re a bit painful. I was in the boot for four weeks and it was a bit of a nightmare because I couldn’t drive.
“It’s been different to get my head around being injured and getting through it, but I’m feeling good and I’m really looking forward to getting back on the pitch.
“It’s gutting because you come out of the team. It’s about focusing on coming back as a better goalkeeper and being better physically, which is what I’ve been trying to do."
Pears is not the first Blackburn player to be ruled out for an extended period of time. Ryan Hedges and Sam Gallagher have spent time in the treatment room with hamstring and calf injuries, respectively, whilst Joe Rankin-Costello faces three months on the sidelines.
The one silver lining is that Pears has had an opportunity to work on his strength and conditioning in the gym, which players don't always have the opportunity to do during the hustle and bustle of a Championship season.
Callum Brittain recently spoke about the importance of having that period when he was out last season. The right-back explained how he felt that extra time in the gym has helped him reach new standards of performance this time around.
Pears is itching to step up his recovery over the next few weeks and get back on the training pitch. Whilst he wouldn't want to relive the injury, the goalkeeper is looking for the positives moving forward.
“Being in a boot for four weeks, it was difficult to work on my legs, but you keep yourself ticking over with your upper body strength, conditioning work and goalkeeping sat down, just to get stronger in my upper body and to come back a bit bigger," he explained.
“I think this will help me in the long run, although I obviously wouldn’t want the injury to happen again, but it’s got me into good habits and to keep hitting the gym hard when I am back fit.
“I think I’m going to come back much better and stronger. I have a few weeks to go now, maybe a bit longer. It’s getting there but it might just take a little time.
“I’m looking forward to the next few weeks. You have to deal with it and focus on coming back better than you were before I got injured.”
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