Andre Gomes interview: Everton midfielder's remarkable road to recovery from ankle injury
Sky Sports exclusive: Everton midfielder suffered a fracture dislocation to his right ankle in November, but he tells Soccer Saturday's Johnny Phillips that he has returned a different person
Sunday 8 March 2020 15:20, UK
The time frame is extraordinary.
Just 112 days passed between the moment Everton midfielder Andre Gomes suffered that shocking ankle injury while playing against Tottenham at Goodison Park in November, to the day he returned to the first-team pitch at Arsenal last month.
Of all the moments of his recovery period - the lonely days of rehabilitation work, the physical pain and the mental fight - it is the events of the penultimate day of his recovery that were the most emotional.
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"I was more emotional the day before the Arsenal game," Gomes explains.
"It was the day that I spoke with the manager and he asked me how I felt in the week. I was really emotional when the team list came out and I was on that list. I was back to doing the normal things: travelling with the team, staying in the hotel, spending time with the boys and preparing myself for the match day. So it was really, really emotional the day before.
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"When I was on the pitch against Arsenal I felt happy, enjoying myself. It was a big fight but I got back and I knew I had 30 minutes to play to give my best."
There were so many critical factors that played their part in this remarkable recovery. It began in those agonising first few moments on the Goodison Park turf, when club doctor John Hollingsworth treated the stricken player, by twisting his ankle back into the best position possible.
"It was really important what he did first of all because I was suffering," Gomes continues. "So once he did what he did, put my ankle in the right position, it was really good because as long as I kept in that position it couldn't get worse for me in terms of pain. Once I arrived at hospital it was easier to do everything and prepare around the surgery."
Incredibly, Gomes did not take oxygen during the period he was treated on the pitch.
"I was so upset that I didn't want anything. Basically what they gave to me was to try to keep me calm, with some painkillers, but I was already in pain. It was really hard for me mentally.
"Obviously I was feeling pain but I was high on adrenalin from the game and from what happened at the same time. So I just wanted to go straight to hospital and see what could happen next."
Those close to the player suggest that his mental approach to the rehabilitation has been crucial to his quick return. Gomes took some time out early on in his journey to clear his head.
"Well the first two weeks before I took the stitches out and the plaster off, I couldn't do anything," he adds.
"I was waiting for everything to settle down, making sure there were no infections or anything. I remember the first four days that I completely avoided the phone. I was trying to have time to process all the things that happened. I was thinking, 'Ok, now I have this, I can't be worse than at this moment now, so what's going to happen tomorrow, the next day, the next week'.
"Since that moment of three or four days when I took time to understand what really happened, I knew what I could do to get back."
So did he undertake a form of meditation during that time?
"Yeah, a little bit. Basically I needed that time for myself. Even with friends and physios around me, who were really important at that stage, I needed time for myself where I didn't ask too many questions or spent time thinking too much."
The role of the Everton medical staff cannot be underestimated. Gomes was in constant dialogue with those entrusted with ensuring his recovery went as smoothly as possible. There were moments he needed reassurance.
"I remember speaking with Danny [Donachie], our head physio, when I took the stitches out and plaster off. I had all the questions for that day. I was really excited to see how my ankle and my foot looked. And that moment was a little bit hard for me.
"That was the main point of thinking, 'Ok, I don't like the way my foot looks right now what's going on?' They gave me all the confidence which was really important. I got answers for all the questions I needed. I knew what I had to do and I wanted to come back as quick as I could, so I just pushed myself to the limit every single day."
The lonely days of running, to build strength in the ankle, were done back in his native Portugal, where the climate was warmer than a winter on the banks of the Mersey.
"I was in Portugal for a few weeks and when I came back at the beginning of January I wanted to be able to go onto the pitch to do some work," Gomes says.
"I reached that goal and from that moment it was a case of seeing when the next step was, 'When can I join my team-mates?'. And after one more week I was with my team-mates. I felt good, sometimes I felt weird things but that was normal. It was almost week by week, seeing how I felt."
So how does the 26-year-old trust his ankle, now that he has made two appearances in the Premier League since the injury?
"I trust it because it's in the right place. It's like having a brand new ankle, low miles and actually I feel really good. I'm not saying I feel amazing every single day, sometimes it's hard, but I feel confident and I built that confidence during all the rehab.
"That was one of the questions when I was struggling in the first weeks. What is going to happen as soon as I'm ready to come back? How will the first tackle be? People were saying to me that I was building my confidence, and that was really important for the way back to the pitch. You feel more comfortable every single day to do more and more."
After such a traumatic injury, Gomes has shown incredible determination and spirit to return to action so soon. He also believes he has come back a different person from the one who was stretchered off at Goodison Park back in November.
"This injury made me learn a lot of things about myself. Like the way of being resilient and wanting something badly. Everybody has different issues and different problems, but I had this problem and I wanted to face the situation and get fit as soon as I could. I've learnt a lot from this journey to get back."
Watch the Soccer Saturday interview with Andre Gomes in the video above. Chelsea host Everton live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday from 1pm; Kick-off at 2pm.
