Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United star Tahith Chong opens up on injury rehab during Birmingham loan
As quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United loanee Tahith Chong spoke about his tough return from injury and spoke of his delight at being back to play for Birmingham City this season.
The forward sealed a season-long loan spell to Birmingham at the beginning of the current campaign to gain more experience playing regular first-team football outside of United. However, after sustaining a groin injury in October, the 22-year-old made a return to action on Saturday.
Playing against Bristol City in a Championship league fixture, Chong opened the scoring in two minutes, and he spoke of his delight at returning to action after months of being sidelined through injury.
“Before the game I was speaking to some of the guys, Lyle [Taylor], Baca [Juninho Bacuna] and obviously it’s been a while since I have started. I came out the stadium was full, I had that buzz, it was a nice feeling.”
After undergoing an operation for his groin injury, the Dutchman returned to his parent club for recovery and began his rehabilitation in Manchester. Chong has since made a full recovery and returned to Birmingham for a sensational return to action on his first senior start since the injury.
“It is tough mentally”
Sent out on loan by United for his development and to experience regular first-team football, Chong made a great impression with the Blues and made 13 appearances before being injured in training last year.
A good start to his loan spell was cut short, and the Red Devils star talked about how mentally tough it was to stay off the pitch and support the team. He also spoke about how happy he was to be back in action and return to a full stadium.
“It’s wonderful. When you get injured it’s tough, I was still watching all the games, you are supporting them but on the other hand you want to be on the pitch. It is tough mentally, I was just very happy – even when I came out the stadium was full and I have not had that for a couple of months, it was exciting.”
The forward was signed by United as a teenager in 2018, after the player spent almost his entire youth career in his native Holland with Feyenoord. Having made his senior debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Dutchman has barely featured for the first team since.
The beginning of the current campaign saw the 22-year-old go out on loan to Birmingham to gain more minutes on the pitch for a senior side. He has previously spent time with Werder Bremen and Club Brugge on loan spells.
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After hitting the ground running for his new Championship club, it was unfortunate for Chong to suffer a training ground injury that kept him out for months at end. In the meantime, he was joined by his United academy teammate Teden Mengi during the January transfer window.
Now back in action after recovering fully, the winger will look to make an impression at Birmingham in the hopes of impressing the new incoming permanent manager at Old Trafford next season. He is expected back at United when his current loan spell expires in the summer.
