Duncan Watmore on his '˜freak' injury setback and the ex-England striker who rang him out of blue

Sunderland striker Duncan Watmore says he has been boosted in his fight to overcome a second cruciate knee injury by the words by former Black Cat Fraizer Campbell.
Fraizer CampbellFraizer Campbell
Fraizer Campbell

Watmore has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a recurrence of his knee injury that kept him out of action for almost a year.

The 23-year-old suffered the setback against Millwall, having appeared to have made a successful comeback after the initial injury.

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He’s now continuing his long rehabilitation, but has been lifted by some words of advice from Campbell, who knows exactly what Watmore is going through.

“Funnily enough Fraizer Campbell did it twice while he was with Sunderland,” Watmore told the club’s official website.

“He got in touch with me out of nowhere, which was really nice of him. He rang me up and gave me the confidence that I can come back and have a good career and carry on.

“He made his England debut after two cruciate injuries.

“He’s a really nice guy and it was completely out of the blue which was really great of him.”

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While some observers questioned whether Watmore had returned too soon initially, the player himself says the nature of his second injury proves it was a ‘freak’ occurence, and not down to him having rushed his rehab.

He added: “There’s nothing I could have done differently. The stuff I did with the physios and surgeon was all spot on,

“I was patient and waited 10 months. My knee felt in a great place, so I was playing at the right time and was fit.

“That’s why it was just a freak accident.

“If I’d have done it turning a corner with nobody near me then I would have been questioning whether I did my rehab right. It was just literally a tackle that could have happened to anyone.

“I’ve had a few days where I felt a bit down, but I don’t think that’s going to help anything. I might as well look at the bigger picture, get on with it and do it all again.”