Stoke City goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has moved to thank the club for going out of their way and keeping his World Cup dream alive.
Fotboll Skanalen cover comments from the 27-year-old today as he looks forward to the summer and a World Cup opportunity he thought would be taken away from him.
Stoke City help World Cup dream
The outlet explain Viktor Johansson’s chances of going to the World Cup appeared to have been handed a blow back in January when he suffered a shoulder injury.
He spent the following 121 days out of action, missing 25 games for Stoke and Sweden in the process. For the latter, it meant missing the play off games against Ukraine and Poland that took Sweden to the World Cup.
That put him in danger of missing out completely. And he admits it has been a fight to return in time. He officially came back from the injury at the beginning of May.
“It has been a very tough fight against the clock,” he said.
“I would not have made it without my wife who took care of our children. It has been long days. It has been a tough time. Very educational. But I am incredibly happy and grateful, especially towards Stoke who have also helped a lot. They made sure I got the help I needed.”
Fortunately for the Stoke City goalkeeper, he knew it would be almost impossible to make the play-offs in March. That stopped any unrealistic expectations and allowed him to focus on the summer instead.
“When I talked to the experts, everyone said: “It takes four to six months, but for a goalkeeper it’s more likely that it takes six months than four,” he added.
“I had surgery on January 7th. So, it went faster. I can’t take all the credit myself because there are many people around who made sure it went well.”
Thanks to Stoke staff
He was helped by Stoke City’s staff, who chose to help him after the season had ended. In fact, they sacrificed their vacations to ensure he could go to the World Cup in the best shape.
“The season ended on May 1st. But still, there were two keepers who stayed and helped me, so that I would be in the best possible shape. The goalkeeping coach stayed too,” he concluded.
“They sacrificed their vacation. The goalkeeping coach sacrificed his vacation with his family. I got to stay at his house. We lived in his house. It was fantastic. That explains what kind of club and people it is. I am incredibly grateful.”
