In Thursday’s match against Aluminij, Marko Ristić returned to the starting eleven for the first time since last March, when he suffered a serious knee injury. After the match, he spoke to the club’s website about his long and difficult road to recovery.
“The injury happened during a match against Ukraine, a warm-up game for the Under-21 European Championship. I went for a challenge, but my leg got stuck in the turf and I heard a pop. My first reaction was that this was the worst thing that could possibly happen.”
“The first few days after the surgery were the hardest because the leg was at its most sensitive. The plan was to do the first three months of rehab in Belgrade, and then return to Ljubljana until I was back on the pitch. Mentally, it was the toughest thing to accept, as it’s hard to imagine how long nine months actually is. Initially, they told me six to eight months. I returned after more than ten, and that’s very hard on the head. I can say the toughest part was when I came back from Belgrade to Ljubljana and had to watch the others training while I couldn’t, or rather, my knee wouldn’t let me yet.”
“Now that I’m finally back on the pitch, I truly appreciate and realize how important it is to be able to train, to be healthy, and to be able to play. Especially after the Aluminij match, I was even happier because I proved to myself that the comeback was a success.”
