It is never easy to get back to your best from a career-threatening injury, but Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is confident he is slowly but surely getting there.
Ramsey suffered a horrendous injury in February 2010, breaking his leg, and anyone would have pardoned him to not to ever play the game again, seeing the magnitude of the injury.
However, the Wales international has improved as he has gotten more game time, and despite a blip in the latter part of last season, where he obviously struggled with his fitness, Ramsey is showing the promise that Arsene Wenger saw in him a few years back.
A few typically energetic but also technically astute performances this season has led many to wonder if the 21-year-old can finally live up to his tremendous potential this season, especially after scoring a wonderfully-taken goal against Olympiakos in the Champions League game Wednesday.
The playmaker is confident the worst is behind him and he can only get better from here on in. "I had a really bad injury and it takes a while to get back to your best," Ramsey told the club's official website. "I'm feeling confident again and getting back to my old self, which got me here in the first place.
"Hopefully now this will kick me on again and I'll keep on improving throughout the season.
"It's always difficult to overcome things like (my injury) in life. A lot happened last year for me. There were loads of things going on off the pitch as well."
"But I'm feeling good now, I'm happy and hopefully that's showing in my performances."
Ramsey started last season extremely well, admirably filling in the void created by the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and the injury to Jack Wilshere. That comeback proved to be a bit of a false dawn, however, with the youngster struggling to keep pace with the speed of the English Premier League in the second half of the season, leading many to, unfairly, criticize the talented player.
Ramsey admitted to being sub-par last year, but said that was to be expected after a long injury layoff. "(When you first come back) you're not sharp in your mind and you take a bit longer to think things through on the pitch which normally come naturally," he said.
"Little things like that make such a big difference... that's how I felt during the second half of last year.
"Being out for so long means your body's not used to (playing again). It takes a lot longer than you think.
"Prior to that I'd been running around every day since I was eight years old. It takes a while but hopefully now I can have a good season."
Ramsey said the long-term injury had moulded him into a stronger individual, something he hopes will also show on the pitch. "I think I grew up a lot -- it makes you stronger and it's getting over the mental side of it," he added. "As soon as you get past that the confidence comes back and it's a thing of the past.
"I spoke to a number of people who've had similar injuries and they reassured me about it. I had a few conversations with people and they had nothing but good advice. I listened, I was patient. I didn't want to rush back -- I wanted to make sure everything was correct."
