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 Mohammed Abdullah targets early recovery
By: Bernard Nyankomago Yeboah
Posted: 29th May 2008
Football is a game characterizes by many unforeseen incidents but the most treacherous of it all is injury.
There is no doubt that injury has constrained most great and talented players in the world of football to end their careers hastily or has halted them from meeting their targets in their chosen profession.
A distinct example on the local scene is Kotoko’s young enterprising defender, Mohammed Abdullah, who has seen little success since arriving from Gamba All Blacks last season together with Isaac Vorsah and Ahmed Nyame.
This is due to the fact that he has been recuperating from a knee injury for more than a year now.
The player did not feature in virtually all Kotoko’s matches played last season. But God being so good to him, he regained full fitness and made his debut in this year’s Onetouch Premier League against Tema Youth in the mid-week encounter at the astro-turf Tema Park last week.
To the dismay of every Kotoko fans at the stadium, Abdullah sustained another knee injury six minutes after coming on for the limping Isaac Anderson at the right side of the defence.
This situation compelled Coach Bashir Hayford to replace him with Daniel Acquah.
Speaking to the Kotoko Express, Abdullah, who reiterated that he has many things to achieve in his professional life expressed great worry about his condition but hopes to recover as soon as possible to help Kotoko attain greater things in the season.
“I have great duty to fulfil at Kotoko. The team is on my heart and I wish to help it achieve many glories and success both on the local scene and in Africa. Unfortunately for me injury has barred me from gratifying my aim. But I know Allah who gave me the talent will help me recover immediately to do what I know best and have also been paid to do” he moaned.
As a player who hates staying idle, Abdullah recounts how he was desperate to play in the CAF Confederations Cup. According to him, it has been his definitive dream to play not only in the domestic league but also in international competitions as he believes it is the only means that can catapult him to greater heights in his chosen career.
“Whenever I see my colleagues play in the name of Ghana, I feel the need to step up whatever I am doing in line with my recovery so that I can fight for my motherland. But that is not the will of Allah. I know at the appropriate time, I will also get the opportunity” he noted.
Kotoko play their next opponent in the confederation cup is against Libyan side, Al Ittihad Sporting Club, somewhere July and Abdullah hopes to make a great come back into the team before Kotoko storm Tripoli.
In response to whether his absence can affect the team one way or the other, the former All Black stalwart defender said “Kotoko is not built around certain group of players or individuals. It’s an all round team. In the absence of one, others are capable of playing without any difficulties”.
However, Kotoko’s physiotherapist, Omono Asamoah has revealed that it would take at least two weeks before Abdullah can start “light training”.
He added that his injury is a normal one which should not scare supporters but urged them to remember him in their prayers.
In a related development, Ahmed Nyame who has also been on the injury list for a while is now fully fit and ready to lace his boots for active soccer again while Richard Manu and Soulama Abdoulaye who sustained injuries during the Kotoko-Hearts thriller in Kumasi are also receiving medical attention.
Explaining why Nana Arhin-Duah was ruled out against Hearts, the longest serving team physiotherapist explained that he has not fully recovered from the groin-injury he suffered against Dolphins of Nigeria in the course of playing the second leg encounter of the Confederations Cup at the Baba Yara Stadium. He pointed out that there was the need for him to regain maximum fitness before he could play in order not to worsen the situation.
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