Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits that he did harbour moments of doubt that he would ever return to play for United following his serious knee injury which caused him problems for three seasons.
SolskjaerÂ’s long road to recovery has seen him return to the United first-team this season, contributing five goals. More importantly, he has done as a substitute, a starter, a forward and a winger. Wherever his presence and experience is used, it has the desired effect. His determination to return is a gutsy tale. But it could have been so different.
“You have one or two moments,” he admitted, “maybe for a couple of minutes on a bad day where you think, maybe I should look in the mirror and tell myself ‘are you fooling yourself?’. But it’s not right being negative. I always try to be positive, and I don’t think I ever went to be thinking ‘I’m not going to make it’.”
“The important thing now is that Ole will be involved for us, he will play his part and he will score goals,” enthused Sir Alex, sat alongside Solskjaer at the pre-Copenhagen press conference. “What Ole has achieved is a great example of perseverance, determination and belief. When you get a long-term injury at 31 years of age and you’re out of the game for two years, you have to think it’s going to be serious.
“But he has come back through his own will. He never seemed to doubt. Every time I spoke to him he was always confident he could come back. And you see him now, he’s improving in every game.
“He’s got me five goals so far, and I think he could get me 20 goals this season… easily. Is that pressure? Well, we’ll make it 25 then! It’s easy to talk in front of Ole because he won’t get carried away, I’m quite confident of that.”
As Ole explained, the United boss was influential during his recovery process. “The most important thing the manager did when I was out injured was to give me the confidence and support that I should take my time and make sure I was right before I came back. It was always important not to push the injury, that is exactly what the surgeon told me. It had to be a step-by-step process.”
The Norwegian strikerÂ’s experience, particularly in Europe, is an essential ingredient of the current United side. So too is the youthful influence of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher. It is a team Solskjaer is certain will be successful, and one he is relishing being a part of.
“I was hoping to be a part of this season,” he said. “With the World Cup just gone, I knew I would have the chance to be ready and available at the start of the campaign. So far it’s been a good one. I’m just glad to be a part of this team because I’m sure it is going to be successful.
"Every season you go into, you hope to make the finals. There are seven or eight teams that could win it this season, and I think we are one of them.
“The older you get, the closer you get to the finish line. So, you have to enjoy every moment. When you are a young player you think it will last forever, as you get older you realise it won’t. I’m just trying to enjoy playing football.”
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