Renato Sanches “falling back in love with football” at Roma
Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches says he hopes his injury problems are behind him, after scoring on his full debut for Roma on Sunday evening against Empoli.
Sanches scored with a header inside the first ten minutes, as coach José Mourinho carefully managed his introduction by limiting his outing to 45 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico.
The former Benfica man started just six league games for Paris Saint-Germain last season as fitness issues again disrupted his campaign in France. Since leaving Portugal in 2016, Sanches has yet to exceed 20 starts in the league in any of his seasons abroad, leading to a tough mental battle to recover from each setback.
“In all these years I’ve been working, I stayed very professional and do everything I need to do, so the injuries are not in my control,” he said after his goalscoring appearance against Empoli. “I hope these injuries have gone, because I love football and want to show what I can do. Injuries are not nice for any player, I need to play and to be good physically.
“I am sure this year that I will do everything to be in very good shape, show my potential and help the team do its best.”
Renato Sanches scores for Roma! pic.twitter.com/WOG6bfCVui
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) September 17, 2023
“Playing football is the best thing in the world. Being at Roma is exciting, as I spoke to the coach and director, I know the fans feel football and that is what I need at this moment, to fall back in love with football.
“When you have a series of injuries, it is hard to get in shape, to show your football, but you must never give up and try to stay professional all the time.
“I believe the best is yet to come, I will always continue working and if I feel good physically, I think I will have a very, very good season.”
By Sean Gillen