I will be fit before January – Muntari declares

Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari has revealed in an interview with Italian tabloid Gazetta Dello Sport the circumstances that led to him rupturing his anterior cruciate knee ligaments while playing with friends on holidays in Accra last week.

Muntari will be out for about 5-6 months after having a successful surgery last week but the midfielder feels well now and hopes to return to action quickly.

‘I feel well both physically and mentally. I’m recovering well and my only objective is to return even stronger than before.’

‘I didn’t get injured while playing for Ghana. It happened during a match with my friends last week. It was during the days that I was beginning to do the personal training schedule,’ he said.

‘I only played for 20 minutes before the problem occurred, but I didn’t think that the injury would be that bad. I didn’t get injured while playing on the beach. It’s also because I can’t swim. The injury occurred on a normal football pitch, and it wasn’t because of a tackle. My leg simply twisted in an unnatural way while I was kicking the ball. I was unlucky. I still wake up at night thinking; ‘how the hell could this happen to me?’

‘I immediately called one of Milan’s doctors when I got injured. The club has been very close to me during this episode.

The Ghanaian who is just signing a two-year deal after an impressive loan spell with Milan is now on a recovery schedule and admits the fury of Milan’s management towards the incident but quelled speculations of a salary-cut by his new employers.

‘A pay cut? No, I’ve never heard any talk about that. It’s up to the club to decide if they want to give me a fine or not. I certainly didn’t hurt myself on purpose. I’m the first one to be sad and disappointed about what has happened. Now I’m only interested in returning to playing again. I will be ready before January.’

Galliani has every right to be angry. I’m one of his players and he never wanted to hear news like that. In any case, I spoke with Galliani before the surgery and he told me to stay calm and that he would wait for me,’ Muntari added.

‘I know my body and I can speed up the recovery time a bit. I want to give it my all for this club that has always been close to me and that has given me a new and magnificent life as a footballer. I can’t wait to play for Milan again. This is the worst injury of my career and it will also be the last one. Next season we [the team] need to avoid making any more mistakes. We want to win everything and make the fans enjoy it.’

Muntari has played 13 games for Milan in all competitions, scoring 3 goals. Muntari now focuses on recovering.