Broja: 'I've just had to be patient'

Armando Broja was all smiles after coming through his first action of the season, a 45-minute run-out for the Under-21s against Watford in the Premier League Cup last night.

The Albania international, a deadline-day loan signing from Chelsea, arrived at Everton with an Achilles injury that was expected to keep him sidelined until this month at the earliest.

As such, his recovery is on schedule and he began a programme of games aimed at building his fitness to the point where he can finally make his full Blues debut, hopefully before the busy Festive period.

"I got through the first 45 and I felt like I could have probably played more but it was always planned for me to play 45, so it was a good start for me,” Broja told evertontv after the U21s’ narrow defeat to the Hornets’ U21s.

"As a player, you've always got to be patient — patient with chances, patient with injuries, patient with situations that are not always in your control.

“I would have loved to have been back sooner but it's one of those ones where you just have to be patient, take your time with it, make sure you're feeling good, make sure everything's right.

"When I first came to Everton, I would have given anything to be out there on the pitch with the players. That's what any player wants — to be in there with the squad week in, week out, playing and training. You need to be patient, you need to be resilient and strong.

The 23-year-old forward enjoyed the experience and it whetted his appetite for the moment can he turn out for Sean Dyche’s first team.

“It was good to be back out on the pitch,” he explained. “It’s been a while since my injury so it was just a nice feeling to be back out there playing, feeling the game, being back on the grass [and] playing with a smile on my face.

“So, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to keep on progressing and hopefully be back with the first team.

“I was also excited to put on the Everton shirt. It was a really good feeling. Hopefully I can put on the shirt for the senior team soon.”

 

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