Schick after being named Footballer of the Year: I struggled for the first six months, this award is a surprise. The injury is frustrating, he says

Czech striker Patrik Schick is not having an ideal season at the moment. This is mainly due to an injury he sustained in training not long ago. At the press conference after the Footballer of the Year award, he shared his feelings and talked mainly about the fact that the current period is very difficult for him psychologically.

Last season was absolutely great for the Czech national player. Schick scored 24 goals in 27 league games and added five assists on top of that. With Leverkusen, they finished the season in third place in the Bundesliga table and there was definitely more to come in the new season.

Schick has only played 14 league games so far in the current season and has only registered three goals and one assist. And Bayer were not at all good at the start either, but they have been in great form recently and are only three points behind the cup standings.

“Last season was great for me, 24 goals was great. But just as it ended well, the new season has started badly. I had my first groin operation in the summer, and it’s dragging on. The first half of the year I struggled. Like the whole of Leverkusen, I’m still medically involved,” Schick said at the press conference after the Footballer of the Year award ceremony.

The Prague native also mentions that winning the Footballer of the Year award is more of a surprise for him considering that six months, but he appreciates it all the more.

The fact remains that Schick will be missed by the Czech team during the upcoming national break. The Czech Republic will face a tough home game against Poland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on Friday. Who will replace him and what line-up coach Jaroslav Šilhavy will send to the match is still a question.

Mentally, a very difficult period

“I got injured in training when I took a shot, it stung me in the groin area. The first examination didn’t show anything muscular and it seemed that I would lose only one match. But the pain didn’t go away, it’s still there. Difficult for me, but I always got out of trouble. I believe even now, the plan is to be back in three or four weeks, but we’ll see. The treatment is conservative for now,” he explains.

Mentally it is understandably very difficult for the Czech striker at the moment. But Schick adds that he still believes he will be able to recover from his injury soon.

“I’ve never been out for so long before, it’s frustrating. The vision of the new season was completely different. But I still believe that I will overcome everything and move on. In the end, I always got over the injury and managed to start back. I believe in the future,” he concluded.

Sources