ACL injury rules Elliot out of Euro 2016

Playing football for your country at any level is a massive honour, but to play at the Euros or World Cup is an achievement only a few get to be part of.

For Irish international goalkeeper Rob Elliot, this dream has been harshly taken from him following an ACL injury he suffered during the 2 – 2 draw in The Aviva Stadium last Tuesday against Slovakia. This injury is not only a blow to the Irish nation, but is also one to those back on Tyneside where Newcastle United are in dog fight at the wrong end of the Premier League table, as he is ruled out for up to six months.

Prior to this season ending injury, Elliot talked about how he felt regarding the upcoming Euros and knowing that his playing time with Newcastle was crucial for receiving a chance of travelling to France, “Obviously, again, it was probably looking an outside shot in August for me, but playing every week in the Premier League is a massive bonus. I just want to keep trying to impress for Newcastle, because if I don’t do that, I won’t stand a chance,” he is quoted as saying.

Now before former Newcastle number 1 Tim Krul suffered a serious knee injury back in October while playing for Holland during a Euro 2016 qualifying win over Kazakhstan, Elliot was more of an onlooker in the Magpies squad. The lack of games was detrimental to his confidence and contributed to him looking elsewhere. “Six or seven months ago, I was quite unhappy not playing any football. I was probably looking to try and get a Championship club to play at, probably at the lower end,” he stated. Having only appeared in a mere 35 games during his four season spell at the club, he went on to say he even struggled with getting approached by the lower league teams as there has not been enough to judge what level he was at. “I was struggling to do that. Mainly because I had been injured for seven or eight months and I hadn’t played a lot of games previously, so it was hard for clubs to gauge where I was at in my career,” he continued.

This injury isn’t the only set-back throughout Elliot’s recent career as he tore his thigh muscle back in December 2014 leaving him out of the squad for up to a year. “I tore my thigh against Chelsea in December 2014. And then I didn’t play a game until we played Norwich in October, November 2015,” he explained. Even though this kind of hindrance can be damaging to one’s progress, Elliot still found the positives from that situation by adding: “The experience I’ve taken out of it is you have to keep working hard and keep your head right because you just never know what is going to happen in football. It’s such a crazy game.”

And he was right to be optimistic about this injury. His comeback game against Norwich evidently kick-started his campaign as he went on to be number 1 for Newcastle over a 21 game stretch. He then went on to talk about how this season has gone so far and on becoming a regular player by saying: “On a personal level it’s been quite bittersweet because although this season has been a massive change in my career, becoming a regular Premier League player and doing well for the club, it’s obviously been harsh because we’re not getting the results we need or deserve sometimes.”

Rob Elliot joins that infamous list of players that did not make it to major tournaments. Most recently, England goalkeeper Jack Butland suffered an ankle injury in the game against the World Cup winners Germany last Saturday and also Northern Ireland midfielder Chris Brunt endured a knee ligament injury ruling him out of Euro 2016. Going back further to the 2014 World Cup, Marco Reus played no part for Germany’s triumph with an ankle injury, and also Radamel Falcao suffered an ACL injury prior to the tournament which ruled him out of Colombia’s plans.

Hopefully this heartbreak won’t play on Elliot’s mind for too long and he can come back a stronger and better player. He may be needed in Russia for World Cup 2018!