Bodde Likely To Play Again This Season

Swansea City midfielder Ferrie Bodde has received some encouraging news regarding his latest injury setback.

The Dutchman picked up a knee injury in November 2008 which saw him sidelined for the remainder of last season.

He battled back through the year to return this season but in his first start in 9 months in September, he suffered a recurrence of the injuey and was hit with the news that he’d be out again for the entire year.

However, news has emerged today that the 27 year-old doesn’t need another operation on his knee and he’s targeting a return some time in the Spring.

Despite the good news, chairman Huw Jenkins is not getting too carried away just yet, especially after what happened in September.

Jenkins said:

‘It’s positive news, but we are all still very cautious,’ said chairman Huw Jenkins. ‘We’ve known about it for a while, but we didn’t want to announce that he hadn’t had the operation too soon.

‘We will continue to monitor Ferrie’s progress very closely because he’s still got a long way to go.’

Bodde said:

‘The scans I had in Swansea straight after the injury looked to confirm another tear in my meniscus (knee cartilage),’

‘I was devastated.

‘But when I went back to Holland for a second opinion, the surgeon there told me to wait a couple of weeks for the swelling to go down before confirming the full extent of the damage.

‘When I had the second scan three or four weeks later, the surgeon said I didn’t have extensive damage to the meniscus as first thought. The cartilage was ok. I couldn’t believe it.

‘He said he was really pleased with my progress and wasn’t going to operate at that stage.

‘It was an unbelievable feeling because I had been really down. The thought of being out for another year had made me really low.

‘The support I received from the fans lifted me a bit, along with the positive reaction of the chairman and the manager. It was nice that people were thinking about me and the supporters believed in me, but my head was still all over the place.’

Bodde also explained his training regime as he recovers from the injury, he added:

‘I’ve been training six days a week,’

‘I train from 9am until 3pm, with only a 30-minute break in between ? and sometimes not even that.

‘I’ve improved my stability and the movement in my knee playing football in the sand. I’ve even done some passing drills.

‘Every time I’ve gone back to the surgeon, he has said my knee is improving.’