EXCLUSIVE: Three cheers for Eduardo as he returns in hat-trick style for Arsenal

EXCLUSIVE

by NEIL ASHTON

He's back. A hat-trick for the reserves against the first team is his message. Arsenal have a new striker in the transfer window.



Eduardo is his name, looking a picture of health compared to the last time he was seen in the Barclays Premier League.



We can all remember the ugly scenes on February 23 last year. Eduardo was lying motionless, his body still in shock following the challenge by Birmingham defender Martin Taylor that left the striker with a broken left fibula and dislocated left ankle.



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Shocking: Birmingham City's Martin Taylor scythes down Eduardo at St Andrew's



Some of his team-mates could not look, Cesc Fabregas covering his face with his hands as former Arsenal physio Gary Lewin sprinted on to the pitch at St Andrew's.



Eduardo said: 'At first I couldn't believe that this was happening to me. Then I thought, "No, this is how it is", so I resolved to try to do everything I could to come back as quickly as possible.'



Sky Sports, who were screening the game live, decided not to show the collision again, fearing a backlash if they continued to analyse the fracture from different camera angles.



Then there were the conflicting stories about whether Taylor, who was sent off and later made a public apology, visited Eduardo in the Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham where he was initially treated.



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Agony: Eduardo lies stricken with the injury that has left him out for nearly a year



Eduardo said: 'My wife said he was there, but he came along at the time when I was having surgery. She obviously didn't know him, until one of the doctors pointed him out and said, "That's the guy".



'I wasn't conscious so I don't remember seeing or speaking to him. He has been in touch via email, though. Before my comeback for the reserves last month he sent me a message to wish me luck and to say he was glad I was back in action.



'I had faxes and emails from people who had the same sort of injury, telling me to be calm and not worry because it would get back to normal. Robbie Savage, Alan Smith and David Busst were three of those who were in touch with positive thoughts.



'When I was in hospital I realised I had to take this process step by step, so I started setting gradual goals. First of all it was to see how things were going day by day, so every day was a victory in that way.



'Then, as the injury was getting better, I started pushing every week to see how I was improving, and then it got to the point where it had been so long that I was taking things monthly until I actually got back to training.'



Nearly a year after his left leg buckled under the force of that thunderous challenge, the Arsenal striker is preparing to make his first-team comeback.



Distraught: Taylor reflects on challenge



'That will be his reward for two operations and eight hours a day he spent in rehabilitation. He has never seen the incident, preferring to concentrate on his fight for fitness and target a return to the Arsenal team.



'I didn't look at anything about the injury, the game, what happened, and I've not even watched the incident since,' he added in an interview that appears in the Official Arsenal Magazine.



'There were ups and downs with this story and its focus, really. My X-rays and all the injury footage were asked for by doctors all around the world for use at universities and in various studies, to show students how the medicine and repair process worked.



If it had happened in Africa, I would have lost my foot. In other countries I probably wouldn't be playing football again. As it happened, it was in Europe, which has more developed facilities.

'I was also thinking about how strong it was for kids to watch, that was a major concern for me, in terms of how it might affect them and their views about playing football.'

He spent four months convalescing in Brazil, spending time with his family as he fixed his sights on a successful return to Arsene Wenger's team.



It took nine months for the striker, signed from Dinamo Zagreb at the start of last season, to emerge from the shadows, training with his team-mates again at London Colney and sharpening his striking instincts.



When he scored his hat-trick, it was a small signal to his manager and his team-mates. Surely they had taken it easy on him?

'I didn't think they changed anything really, but, of course, we are all members of the same group and nobody's going to tackle you in training as they would an opponent in a match anyway,' he said.



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Thumbs up: Eduardo back in action for Arsenal against Burnley in the FA Cup



'There's a lot of respect and care shown to each other. So I couldn't feel them being soft on me because I'd had the injury, just being soft generally because we're all careful in training not to injure our friends and colleagues. Plus, I had prepared during my recovery so that I didn't feel any worries. If I stepped out there it was because I was ready, so there was no reason for anything to be different.'



He then made a successful return for the reserves last month against Portsmouth, reminding the manager he can solve the club's shortage of goals when he is fully fit. That will not be far away after he recovered from a hamstring strain but Wenger will not rush him back.



'The way I see it, if I could play now I would do, but obviously I don't feel that I can go to the Emirates and be at my very best just yet. 'Until then I want to play in every single game that I can for the reserves. I want to be there to make sure that I'm moving further and further forward, until the boss thinks I am ready.' When he is, he will be guaranteed a hero's reception.



This is taken from the Eduardo interview in the February issue of the Official

Arsenal Magazine. To subscribe, 12 issues for £33 (UK), call 0845 88 00 445.

