Barnes ready for Albion debut
Saturday 27th February 2010, 11:29AM GMT.
Giles Barnes has claimed he is ready for his Albion debut after ending his injury hell.
Barnes believes he is ready to follow fell midfielder James Morrison into the first team and was even hoping for a seat on the bench against former club Derby today.
The 21-year-old says he is ready for a call-up from head coach Roberto Di Matteo just three months after suffering the Achilles injury that triggered his release from Pride Park.
“I have only played in two behind-closed-doors game and one reserve game but I feel that, if he needs me, I’ll be ready,” said Barnes. “I’m ready if selected.
“My body feels good and my knee and Achilles feel good and they are the main things.
“I don’t really put many targets in my head so if it comes quicker it’s quicker and if it’s later it’s later.
“But I have surprised myself. I only injured my Achilles in August and I have been training and playing, so coming back so quickly is a success.
“In any game you get a bit of adrenaline anyway. I know I am not going to start even if I am involved so if it is 15 or 20 minutes I would be grateful.
“If it doesn’t happen I just need to make sure I am in the squad the week after and the week after that.”
Barnes signed an 18-month contract at The Hawthorns at the beginning of February after joining the Baggies on trial in mid-January.
And he admits he is excited about a possible comeback after suffering knee, foot and Achilles problems since helping the Rams win promotion to the Premier League in 2007.
“It’s been a long road and I’ve got a lot of people to thank for helping me get through everything,” he said.
“I’ve had to be mentally strong myself but when you start to see the light you want to get there as soon as possible and sometimes you have to slow yourself down.
“When I came here I had only trained for an hour and everyone has shown belief in me.
“I owe the club a lot for giving me the chance to prove myself and help get the club back to where they belong.”
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Giles,You have a very clear view of your come back
pathway.Follow it and you will get there,Where you
want to be.All the best for the future.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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