alex oxlade-chamberlain
The Year of the Ox
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has revealed that watching his team-mates perform so well in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League last season was his biggest motivation during his rehabilitation from a long-term injury.
The 26-year-old midfielder suffered multiple serious injuries to his right knee and hamstring during the UEFA Champions League semi-final against AS Roma in April 2018. He was only able to make his return to first-team football against Huddersfield Town FC in the Premier League at Anfield one year and two days later, in April 2019.
Now back in action again for six months, the Ox has been reflecting on the mental battle of coming through a lengthy rehabilitation process and admits that watching Liverpool FC play some thrilling football without him last season made him want to be out there on the pitch again.
“Getting back and being in this team motivated me,” he said. “How they were performing and playing was a constant nudge, a 'jeez, I need to be involved with these lot, these lot are good'. They were moving in a way I like and I needed to be back in and around it.
“The Club was all moving together and it was inspiring. The lads were so close to winning the Premier League and any footballer would love to be a part of that, of the way this team plays and playing for this manager.
“It's a privilege to be here and that was driving me on, just getting back to where I was before I got injured. I was on the way to it being the best part of my career, for sure. I'd got to a place where I felt really good, I felt like I could make a big difference in every game and that was a really nice feeling.
“It was something I hadn't had – that feeling consistently over a four-month spell. So yeah, it was just getting back to where I had left off, but it was the boys that kept me going because this group of players is amazing.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain is honest enough to admit he found it impossible to watch every Liverpool FC game in person during his spell on the sidelines – “to keep going back to the stadium knowing the reward of playing had been taken away from me was when I really struggled,” – but he enjoyed keeping an eye on his team-mates when they were training at Melwood.
“The training side of things I actually liked because I was around the boys as much as possible, even if I was on a different schedule to them. Putting the bike in the window to watch them train was one of the times I could stay connected, see what they were doing and give Robbo or Trent a bit of banter about their crosses!
“For the games I saw it pretty much as the fans saw it, but being at training and being able to have a chat with them at lunch about what had gone on was good for me.”
After playing just 19 minutes of football in 2018/19 Oxlade-Chamberlain has been integrated back into Jürgen Klopp's midfield – the 89 minutes he played in the 2-1 win at former club Southampton FC in August was his longest run-out for 16 months – and now the Reds' midfielder is targeting becoming a regular starter again.
“I feel like I can really perform at a good level at the minute, but the one thing I haven't done is string matches together. That's the next step for me, to play and play and play again, all in the same week.
“That's the one thing I haven't ticked off, but I feel like I'm in a position where I feel good, I feel strong and I've been training since the back end of last season. To play at this level is one thing, but to churn three games out in a week is what my body has to adapt and get used to. But I feel confident about getting out there and doing what I can do.”
