Blackburn Rovers loanee buzzing with Motherwell return after 'quite bad' injury + the pop that caused concern
The Blackburn Rovers loanee is back at Motherwell after injury.
Jack Vale is keen to get back to full match sharpness ASAP at Motherwell after returning to the club from Blackburn Rovers.
The striker signed a second loan deal at Fir Park in the summer transfer window but he’s been missing since September after feeling a pop in his Achilles area. He has been training with parent club over the last couple of weeks and came off the bench in Motherwell’s 1-0 loss against Hearts on Thursday.
He’ll have a chance to build fitness in a bounce game on Friday before another Premiership tussle rolls around on Sunday versus Aberdeen. Vale said to the Motherwell Times: “It's been a long time for me, about 13 weeks injured. Buzzing to be back in the squad, obviously disappointed with the result.
“I think as a team we've just got to bounce back against Aberdeen now. I just felt my soleus and my Achilles and then it just popped in training. You've got to be careful with the Achilles but luckily it weren't the worst. I did my rehab as best as I can so I'm just glad to be back now.
“And I hope just to stay fit for the rest of the season. I expected 10-12 weeks but I think it went over to 13 weeks. It's done now so I can't really change the past. But like I said, I just want to hit the ground running now and finish on a high this season.”
Vale didn’t expect to get on the park at Tynecastle but was left wondering how he didn’t score when Craig Gordon denied him a leveller with an outstanding reaction save. Match sharpness is now being targeted. He added: “I didn't expect him to save. I wasn't really looking, I just seen I had a good contact at the back of my head and then it just looked like he tipped it over so it was a good save. Disappointing for us but we can't help it now.
“I was happy to be in the squad. I didn't expect to get on but I thought I did what I could when I came on. I think I'm playing in the friendly on Friday so I could get minutes there and go again versus Aberdeen. I think it'll take me a couple of games just to get back up to speed but I don't feel too bad. I kept on top of my fitness when I was injured so it should be alright.”