Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic has suggested he is now close to being 100% fit again.
The Austria international has endured a really tough past 11 months.
He signed for Wolves last summer and just days later, he sustained an ACL injury.
Kalajdzic would be ruled out for the whole 2022/23 season, much to his frustration.
Wolves documented the star’s road to recovery and have uploaded the first two parts to the club’s YouTube channel.
And now, Kalajdzic has been speaking further about his recovery, and how he is feeling right now with the new season having officially started.
Sasa Kalajdzic says he’s nearing full fitness for Wolves
Kalajdzic has given an interview with the Express & Star and given an update on his current condition.
The 25-year-old has worked extremely hard to get back into the picture, but he isn’t quite in tip-top shape just yet.
But he’s not far off, and Kalajdzic has admitted there is still a psychological barrier he still needs to break through regarding his knee.
He said: “I’d had a lot of training sessions and situations where you feel weird on your knee, which everyone has.
“Step by step I’ve been going more into tackles and I wasn’t worried. But there are still some situations that I have to survive to fully gain confidence in my knee. I’m almost there.”
Kalajdzic was given a cameo by Gary O’Neil against Manchester United last week.
That was his first competitive appearance for the club since the injury against Southampton last season.
The manager had said before that game that Kalajdzic had started to tire after a couple of his sessions, indicating that he still needed some time to boost his fitness and sharpness.
Expectations over Kalajdzic must be tapered
It is great to hear Kalajdzic is now really close to full fitness.
The £35,000-a-week star could be absolutely key for Wolves this season, as O’Neil seeks to find a more regular source of goals.
That said, expectations need to be tapered over Kalajdzic.
He’s said it himself. He probably can’t be expected to scored a bucket-load of goals just at the moment.
Hopefully the big man will soon be able to break through that psychological barrier in training, and he can go out and play without any kind of fear.