Habib Diarra ended his seven-year spell at RC Strasbourg and joined Sunderland in July.
The Senegal international started for the Black Cats in their first four league games. He had a good start to his life at the Stadium of Light before picking up an injury in training.
Back in September, the 21-year-old had to undergo surgery after suffering a groin injury.
Since then, the midfielder is yet to make an appearance for Sunderland but has made it to the Senegal squad for AFCON.
D Sports in Senegal have asked the Sunderland summer signing about the injury setback and his fight to return to the pitch.
Diarra admitted he initially thought there was no need to go under the knife. He eventually took this decision and received support from Sunderland, the national team and his loved ones.
Sunderland and Senegal supporting player
He’s been out of action since September. D Sports asked Diarra how he got through this period, both physically and mentally.
“It’s true that at the beginning, it was difficult,” he said.
“After the injury, I didn’t think there would be surgery. Then, they explained that there were two options: either treat it without surgery, with a risk of relapse, or have surgery to fix the problem permanently. I chose the second option.
“It was very tough, but I stayed positive mentally. The club supported me, the Senegalese FA too, my family, honestly everyone around me. That really helped me maintain a positive mindset.”
When specifically asked whether he doubted himself while working on his recovery, Diarra explained: “No, not at all. I never doubted myself, I know my strengths. I worked very hard during this recovery period to come back as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, he’s also explained why he picked Sunderland over AC Milan and Atlético Madrid.
