Having returned for pre-season earlier this week, Sasa Kalajdzic is looking forwards to getting back on the pitch for Wolves after injury disrupted his debut season in gold and black.
The Austrian striker had to come off at half-time of Wolves’ victory over Southampton after suffering a knee injury during his first start for the club, meaning he was forced to watch from the stands as Wolves survived the Premier League drop.
Spending the last eight months recovering at Compton Park, Kalajdzic is hoping to have more luck in the 2023/24 campaign, but insists he will not be rushing to return as he takes his time to ensure he is as fit as possible before joining up with Julen Lopetegui’s squad.
On a season of recovery
“It was pretty tough when you come to a new club and get injured in the first game. It was absolutely not what anyone expected, or no-one would have believed it would happen, but I tried to make the best out of it.
“It was difficult in the beginning, but everyone tried to make it easy for me, but a new country, a new culture, I speak the language so that was ok, but it was tough.
“It was tough especially in the beginning, but I got used to it and I tried to make the best out of it and I tried to make the best of me so I could attack next season.”
On not being able to help the team
“I already knew how this would feel because I had lived this before and it’s horrible, because when the team is successful you would like to be part of the success and also when the team is not successful you would love to be helping, so in both ways its horrible.
“But I have enjoyed every single minute in the stadium. I was like a fan. When we scored a goal or when we played really good, I was up cheering and trying to support.
“Being emotional, I celebrated every single goal we scored and when there was a decision made by the ref or if there was a possible penalty, I was screaming like everyone else in the stadium. It was fun watching last season, but I just wanted to be out there to help the team.”
On getting back to fitness
“I feel good. It’s been over nine months now and I’m already out on the pitch doing some stuff and it’s going really well.
“The first three or four months were not the best because my knee needed more time to not react, so it was tough in the beginning because you couldn’t see progress in everything.
“I saw progress in some things, but it wouldn’t swell down, it was just swelling up and was reacting all the time, so it just needed time to settle, but once it settled everything went really well.
“I’ve been making really good progress and we’re happy at the stage that I am at right now, and it's good how well it’s been performing.”
On being back in training
“Pre-season is all about trying to recover as well as possible and make a big step further in my rehab and think about what I can do to prevent this happening again next season to be as strong as possible.”
The first lads back for pre-season.
— Wolves (@Wolves) June 28, 2023
🏃♂️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/K4Sth5m4Nk
On a return to action
“I would love to have a timeframe so I can tell everyone because you always get the same questions every day, but I hope that I can get be fit for the start of the season and can make as much of the pre-season as possible.
“There are a lot of factors which can impact it, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on it, but I’m in a good way which is the most important thing.
“If you put yourself under pressure and try to force things, then things can go wrong and you don’t perform as you want to, so the most important thing is to try to be as natural as possible, work hard, and if you do everything right it will go in your favour.”
On aims for the 2023/24 season
“I want to stay healthy. This is the most important thing for me. I want to play as much as possible and the goals and the aims change with the situations.
“My first aim is to be healthy, the next aim is to play as much as possible, to be with the team, and then if you play, the aim will be to score a lot of goals and score the most goals you can.
“It differs from time to time, but to be healthy and play a lot is my most important aim, as well as to help the team to have a successful season.”
