Ex-Sunderland skipper Corry Evans’ determination to return from injury may have cost him a future with the Black Cats. The 33-year-old has explained what he was “guilty” of doing during his lengthy rehab from an ACL injury which kept him out for 15 months.
Evans had been a key figure since Sunderland were promoted in 2022, captaining the side as they enjoyed a superb first season back in the Championship. But his season was cut short as the Black Cats were on their way to a top-six finish.
He was injured in the 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough on January 22, 2023 and he can’t have imagined then his career with the club was effectively over. Sunderland initially extended his contract last summer with the expectation he would contribute towards the later part of the year.
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But his comeback was prolonged as the midfielder picked up niggly injuries which delayed his return. While it had been reported he could return at the end of 2023, setbacks meant that Evans didn’t return to training until the end of February this year, while he was unable to make a senior appearance until April.
It meant the season was nearing its end and he had no time to cement a place back in the starting line-up. Evans has now admitted that trying to return too early may have cost him dearly.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Evans said: “I should have been back earlier, but I rushed things towards the end and that set me back. I was able to get my head around the injury, it was all the setbacks that killed me.
“I was guilty of pushing myself too hard on the training pitch because I was too desperate to get back to playing. You have to tick a lot of boxes along the way. You have to prove you’re fit enough to train and then fit enough to play.
“I pushed so hard to get back with the lads, I got muscle injuries that set you back two weeks. And those two weeks become four weeks, and four weeks turns into six weeks. That happened more than once. And it all adds up.”
A fit Evans earlier in the season might well have seen the club end the campaign differently. He was exactly the player the team needed in the engine room as a youthful side floundered. The Wearside outfit opted to offload him though and they will need to be looking to recruit experienced midfielders in the Championship to firm things up and add some leadership to an extremely inexperienced squad.
