ROSS BARKLEY has been hopping mad while battling his way back from a nasty foot injury.
The Chelsea midfielder revealed he could only use one foot at times during nearly three months out.
But he returned with a goal yesterday in his first appearance since mid-October as Chelsea brushed aside Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round.
Barkley said: “I was trying my hardest to pass the ball in training with my right foot but it was that painful I just had to train with my left foot.
"Some days I would have to come out of training because it would be really painful, but for the last two or three weeks I have been pain-free so I have been putting in the extra yards.
"After training I have been doing double sessions fitness wise so I could stay on top of it with me not getting games for a while.
“I have put in a lot of hard work and I was grateful to get a start and get a goal. Hopefully I can kick on from here and get back in the side by continuing to work hard in training.
"Hopefully with a goal I have put that thought back in the manager’s mind.
“It is tough to be on the side watching games. You want to be on the pitch.
"But I had trouble, I had fine chips on two parts of my bone in my foot so it was really painful. I just had to bide my time and keep working hard.
“I couldn’t really kick the ball with my right foot so I was training with my left. But now I feel good and I am ready to get back in the side and keep working hard.
“It felt great to just be back on the pitch. I haven’t played for a while. After I injured my foot I had a setback for a while, I was in pain until probably a couple of weeks ago when I became pain-free.”
Barkley, 26, has endured huge highs and lows this season- scoring twice for England in October then suffering injury and falling out of favour with boss Frank Lampard.
He said: “Yeah, but I always stay positive in my mind. Everyone has setbacks and every footballer doesn’t like being in the stands watching a game. You want to be a part of it and it leaves you frustrated.
“You have to take every chance you get. We won the game, kept a clean sheet and I got a goal, so hopefully that puts a thought in the manager’s mind to get back in the side and help the team.”
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