Steven Defour has admitted he spent the last two years at Burnley ‘lying awake’ because of his injury problems.
The Belgian midfielder joined the Clarets from Anderlecht in 2016 but managed just 58 appearances in three years at the club as injuries ruined his time at the club.
He returned to Belgium this summer, with Burnley electing to cancel his contract so he could join Royal Antwerp on a free transfer.
His time at Turf Moor was certainly not a happy one, with many predicting big things from him when he arrived in the summer of 2016.
And he has now admitted he spent the last two years lying awake as the injury issues began to take their toll.
“The last two years I have been lying awake a lot,” he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“With that cartilage, they said I would be out for five, six months. It took eight months before I played again.
“You will always be able to feel pain again; they told me afterwards. And then there was that calf injury.
“Again I heard it was going to take five months, but that also took longer. Then you sometimes wonder if it will work.”
Sadly for Defour, the injury problems that ruined his time at Burnley are starting to threaten his return to Belgium too.
The midfielder has made just four appearances for Antwerp this season, and after picking up a minor injury two months ago, he is yet to appear for the club since.
That was difficult for Defour to take, leading to clashes with the club’s physiotherapist Lieven Maesschalck.
“Lieven Maesschalck told me that I couldn’t put it in my head and that, despite the pain,” he added.
“We had to train. Then we… clashed. I didn’t believe him. We had a tough discussion. Quarrel, yes. We went head to head. ‘It is always the same, solve it!’, I cried.
“He told me that I was not injured while I really felt pain. I got mad. He was convinced that he was right; I didn’t believe him because it was the umpteenth time.
“But he was convinced that he was right. And then Lieven is usually right. And it would have been better. I trained individually for three days and then with the group. Without pain.”
