Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby made his return back to football after a spell on the sidelines, but he will be hoping that this will not be his last appearance on the pitch. The Frenchman has suffered several injuries in the last two seasons. It has limited him to only a handful of appearances during this period. He has almost become the forgotten man at the club, but the midfielder came back to the page during the 1-0 win over West Brom on Sunday. The midfielder has not played since March 2013 and he has been training only for the last few weeks.
After the match, he admitted that the time on the sidelines has been extremely tough. In fact, he has even considered retiring from football as result of persistent injury problems. At the peak of his powers, Diaby is regarded as one of the finest midfielders in the Arsenal team. He was signed from Auxerre several years ago with many even comparing him with Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira due to his physical stature and ability on the ball. Now, he will be looking to make up for the lost time by regaining his place in the team.
It is highly unlikely that he will complete 90 minutes of football in the remaining two matches of the season.
“I would have loved to play 10 minutes this weekend. I was counting substitutions: one, two, and three. There was big desire. I am ready. Anyway I am already happy to have reached this point. It has been the longest absence of my whole career. You ask yourself if you are still a football player. You think about giving up. I told myself: I am fed up. I quit! I talked to my parents, brothers, sisters and friends. Then, one day I woke up: no, out of the question to quit,” said Diaby.