Callum Hudson-Odoi is ready to rumble again for Chelsea after his ‘scary, freak’ injury which kept him out for four months last season.
The England winger, 21, has started just 18 times in the Premier League since took over from Frank Lampard 20 months ago. Hudson-Odoi missed nearly the entire second half of last season with an Achilles problem.
He is now working on making himself “faster and stronger” during a key pre-season for him - with a number of clubs waiting to swoop if Chelsea decide to loan him out. “I’ve been injured for the last four months near the end of the season,” he said. “So it’s definitely important for myself to get back fit, making myself stronger and faster.”
Hudson-Odoi admitted to being concerned about the extent of his injury while his team-mates were competing in the latter stages of the Champions League and the FA Cup. “It was definitely scary,” he said. “When it happened it was like a freak injury. It was weird. I didn’t know how it even came about.
“It was just one day I went to go training and I felt very stiff in my body and my legs. I was like ‘Woah, there’s no real power to kick the ball or strike the ball or even pass it.’ It was definitely a weird one but I was working hard to get myself back into training, back into games. I definitely feel like my power has come back to where it was.”
Hudson-Odoi has become the latest of Chelsea’s young players to pay tribute to the leadership of his more senior England squad mate Raheem Sterling who joined the Blues last week. He added: “He has had a big influence. We know the player he is. Top, top player. We have seen what he has done for Manchester City and for England.
“He has done amazing. For myself, playing in the same position he plays, it is definitely good to look up to someone like him, his goals and assists and the way he plays and dribbles. It is definitely a good thing to look up and know you have someone like him in the changing room who wants to lead and help the team win games, try and win trophies.
“A big character like him helps all of us in the changing room, and on the pitch and in training sessions as well.” Sterling’s arrival is set to limit the opportunities for Hudson-Odoi but he maintains he is ready to play anywhere for Tuchel. I have always said my most natural position is left winger or left 10,” he said. “I am comfortable playing wherever he puts me at the end of the day but at the same time you’ve just got to play your best.”
