NEIL FARRUGIA was delighted after making his second appearance of the campaign for Shamrock Rovers against Bohemians on Friday.
The former Ireland U21 international returned after a shoulder injury in the opening game against Dundalk kept him out of action for several weeks.
Persistent and badly timed injuries have been a recurring theme of the 24-year-old’s career, although, on this occasion, it had nothing to do with the hamstring issues that have plagued him previously.
“For the first two weeks, you think doom and gloom. ‘I’m never going to get back’ et cetera,” he said after a late substitute appearance during the 1-1 draw at Dalymount Park.
“I had a good pre-season and then all of a sudden, I’m in a hospital getting my shoulder popped back in.
“But once you get over that and start training, [you think:] ‘Do you know what? I’m going to get back. And then make sure that when I’m back, I’m back at my best.’”
After a successful operation, Farrugia is confident his shoulder troubles are behind him.
Mentality-wise, it helped that this issue was not as severe as some of his past setbacks.
“I was bed-bound, needed help to get around, couldn’t drive, and that was tough. But once I got moving and mobility back, I was back on the pitch fairly quickly because it was an upper limb injury. Then all of a sudden it was about being safe and keeping the risk low [of suffering a recurrence].
“With the hamstring, you could be a while. So to be fair mentally, it wasn’t the worst because I’ve been there.
“I was seeing the surgeon this week. He gave me the green light and said: ‘You’re good to go.’ That’s what I needed. I was a bit wary before then — scared of contact and falling.”
Farrugia knows from experience he can take nothing for granted. But he comes back into the team with Rovers in a decent position — two points off Premier Division leaders Shelbourne and with some vital European fixtures around the corner.
The Hoops have had a bad time with injuries in general of late. Dylan Watts was the latest player to pick up a knock that forced him to leave the field against Bohs. The relatively untested likes of Cory O’Sullivan, John O’Sullivan and Matthew Britton made the bench at Dalymount in place of more experienced personnel.
With another intense run of fixtures to come before the midseason break, a fresh Farrugia — who was called up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for a training camp almost exactly one year ago — will be a big plus for Rovers.
“Last year when I injured my hamstring I had a good start to the season and then bang, got injured before Europe. That was tough. Whereas here, okay I missed the start but I’m back now and the risk of me doing it again is back to what it was before, so I’m in a good place right now.”
