“Can’t wait to be back” – Chelsea star raring to go in pre-season after season-ending injury

Armando Broja’s latest Instagram post shows he is ready to return following six months out with an ACL injury.

He was ruled out for the rest of the season in December 2022 after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during a mid-season friendly in Abu Dhabi against Aston Villa.

The 21-year-old has been undergoing his personal rehabilitation programme in a bid to be ready in time for pre-season, which will now be overseen by Mauricio Pochettino following his head coach appointment.

“After surgery, I was bedridden for about two weeks,” reflected Broja in an honest interview with the official Chelsea website back in April. “It was one of the worst times of my life. It was horrible. I couldn’t get out of bed. My mum was running round the house to get me tablets and give me my food. It was a struggle. You almost feel useless. You want to be able to do stuff, but you just can’t.

“I couldn’t sleep. I was in pain. The day and what happened played on my mind constantly. I was thinking about ways I could have avoided it, even though I knew that wasn’t a good thing to do.

“I had to take a step back from that. It was something I had to move past, start just focusing on getting back fit. As they say, the comeback is going to be better than the setback.”

Broja returned to the grass at Cobham in April as he stepped up his recovery which was “one of the best days”.

He added: “It makes you happy every time you hit a milestone in your recovery. It gives you an extra boost.

“There are some days when you come in and you feel like it’s not getting any better, or any worse. It’s just the same. I’ve been miserable, a bit moody. But now I can see the journey from where I was, to where I am.”

The Chelsea forward will face competition when he returns to the fold this summer. Christopher Nkunku and Romelu Lukaku, whose future is still unclear, will join the group and Broja will be hoping to leave a good impression on Pochettino as soon as possible.

With the squad now on their holidays, Broja took to Instagram to express his readiness at getting back to action.

He wrote: “Can’t wait to be back.”