Josh Sheehan is determined to revive his Wales career after injury destroyed his World Cup dream and provoked the “dark days” that followed.
Bolton midfielder Sheehan won his fourth Wales cap – and his first for two years – by coming on as a second-half substitute in the 0-0 friendly draw with South Korea on Thursday.
It was reward for a tough journey that began on November 17, 2021 – a date inked in Sheehan’s mind.
“An FA Cup game against Stockport, I was running down the line against their full-back and he just gave me a little nudge,” said the 28-year-old from Carmarthenshire.
“I felt something in my leg, and it just went. I went down for a second and then I carried on for five minutes, but every time I felt like turning it would give way.
“I should have come off thinking about it now. But I’m not the type of player to go down and go off, I’d rather just try and get through.”
The reality was that Sheehan had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament and would spend nine months out of the game.
Sheehan’s return to league football at Bolton came just weeks before Wales went to Qatar for their first World Cup in 64 years and time was against him to make Rob Page’s squad.
He said: “It was a tough ask to come back and hit my peak straight away. A tough ask for any player.
“It’s disappointing because sometimes a World Cup is a once in a lifetime thing, and there are a lot of dark days when you have that sort of injury.
“A dark day would be when the boys are all out training, and you’re just watching from the side or you’re in the gym.
“Sometimes I would literally be on my own because the physio would be with someone else – and it’s such a long injury.
“There’s no rush to get back, but you still have to do everything to the top level and perfect each section coming back from the injury.
“Watching games at 3pm on Saturday in the stands knowing you can’t affect the game, that’s probably the dark days mentally.”
Sheehan said he got through the rehabilitation process with the help of family and friends – “I’ve got a little daughter and that takes your mind away from football” – and he eventually helped Bolton into the League One play-offs last season.
Kicking on this term sealed the return of the Swansea product and former Newport player to the Wales squad during a vital stage of Euro 2024 qualification.
Wales play Latvia in Riga on Monday knowing three points is essential to keep alive hopes of a top-two place in Group D.
“How I was playing before the injury, I was doing as much as I could, scoring goals at Bolton,” Sheehan said.
“It’s disappointing (what happened), but you move on and use it as motivation.
“We all know what we have to do in Latvia. We know what our game plan is, and as long as we stick to it, we know we’re good enough to win.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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