Dujon Sterling could be forgiven for feeling a little left out as he’s stuck in Scotland while the rest of Rangers’ squad get going in Germany.
An irritating injury put paid to his early pre-season plans but the former Chelsea kid won’t let it get him down. Sterling has suffered far worse and came out the other side stronger – and he has no reason to doubt he won’t blast back from the setback at Ibrox. The 23-year-old was flying as a youngster at Stamford Bridge. He had been given a taste of the first team at 17 and then spent a season looking the part on loan at Coventry City.
Sterling headed out for another temporary stint at Wigan but a torn hamstring halted his progress for more than three months. What followed nearly ended his career. The defender was stuck by serious illness during the early stages of the Covid pandemic and it took him 12 months to get back fully on his feet. The dark times are a thing of the past after bursting back on to the scene at Blackpool and Stoke to earn his move to Glasgow. And he’s not going to let a sore calf hold him back this time. Sterling said: “It was difficult but I’m mentally strong. Little downers like that – obviously it was big – won’t affect me.
“I bounce back. Even in game situations, if something goes wrong, there is always the next game to prove yourself and get back to doing what’s right. We knew the problem straight away. It was just the period to get back to 100 per cent in my whole body took a bit of time, about eight months.
“From there you’ve got to do the rehab, then actually get back into training. That was another challenge... then playing games. There were a lot of stages to go through but in the end it worked out because now I’m here.”
Sterling is made of strong stuff but the experience certainly was far from a breeze. He added: “At the start, you’re getting agitated just being in the treatment room and you can see everyone outside. You’re just sat there on the machines.
“After a while I tried to go outside but it didn’t feel right, so I just went back inside and decided to make sure I waited until everything felt 100 per cent ready to go, then we’d try again. Coming off that experience has made me stronger. It has made me enjoy football more as well. You don’t take it for granted. For me, that was the main thing.”
There’s been a patient and then there’s having patience. Sterling had to be both but it showed the character of the lad he eventually was able to pick up where he left off, even if his year out felt like he’d gone off the grid.
Asked if he feared he’d be forgotten, Sterling said: “Not forgotten, I didn’t really care if that’s how people felt from the outside. It was all about getting my body right and headspace as well because if I’m not confident in my play, I can’t benefit anyone.
“It was difficult, especially coming back because you lose that yard of speed and the power. That’s me, my game. Everything is powerful. Trying to get back to it was difficult, it took a bit of time. It didn’t feel right at first, so I stopped and worked on it again.
“Then going on loan to Blackpool got my confidence back up. Neil Critchley put trust in me. I’d been out the game for two years and everyone is thinking, ‘Where’s Dujon?’.
“No one had heard of me or saw what was happening. I didn’t let it out in the Press and Chelsea didn’t either. When I went to Blackpool, it was one of the best times in my life.”
Sterling is hoping the best times are now in front of him. The full-back is counting on his grounding at Chelsea standing him in good stead as he is now playing catch-up to some of his team-mates who have made the grade at Stamford Bridge.
Sterling said: “The main players who were in the academy but pushing for the first team were Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ola Aina. They were the ones us lot looked up to because they were a couple of years older as well.
“We were just trying to emulate them. Then I got the chance to do that myself when I started training with the first team every day and then when I made my debut.
“Everyone’s path is different. He got the chance, I was injured for two years. Well done to Reece for taking his chance but my path is different. I’m just grateful to be here making my path at Rangers.”
Sterling already feels right at home and he’s mulling over another Tavernier partnership, having played behind Ibrox skipper James’ brother Marcus when they were younger.
Sterling said: “I used to play right-back and Marcus played right wing. We did it for England in the Euros a couple of years ago. I know Marcus a lot, to be fair. He’s got that Tavernier scoring gene, ain’t he.”
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