Danny Welbeck is feeling in the best condition for nearly two years ahead of a “big game” against West Ham United on Friday night where the sole focus is making sure the Hornets’ fate remains firmly in their own hands.
The England international has completed 90 minutes in four of the six matches since the restart and he’s not really strung a run of Premier League games like that together since he started the first four of the 2017/18 campaign for Arsenal.
The 29-year-old now trusts his body to such an extent that he leapt in the air with complete abandon to execute a stunning overhead kick against Norwich City and is now looking like the thoroughbred forward who has played for two of the biggest clubs in England and scored a goal in just under every three games for England.
“This is the best I've felt since that ankle injury [I suffered in November 2018],” Welbeck said in an interview with talkSPORT. “I feel fitter, stronger and I'm looking forward to the remaining games and making an impact.
“The days have been difficult and I wouldn't wish it (the injury) on anybody, but you've got to have the right people around you. I've got a great family and friends around me, and medical teams looking after me, making sure I was alright physically as well as in the right head space. I always had belief. I just tried to focus on doing something better every day, focusing and maintaining that mentality that I'll get back on the football pitch. I worked hard during lockdown to make sure I came back in the best possible shape. I'm feeling good, I'm feeling strong.”
West Ham will certainly be wary on Friday night of the threat Welbeck poses on the left of a visiting front three. He has the ability to emerge as the match-winner and take the Hornets above the Hammers and six clear of Bournemouth with two games to play.
“We can do the job ourselves and whatever happens outside our bubble is a bonus,” he said. “The most important thing is to focus on ourselves and what we can do. It's about how we prepare tactically, physically and mentally. We’ve got to be good to go and go for three points. It’s a big game, but we have to focus on ourselves. Hopefully we get the three points. We’ve got a lot of good players in the squad and for some reason it’s not really shown with the position we are in. It’s difficult to pinpoint why but...hopefully we can express ourselves in the remaining games and show what we can actually do.”
The front three of Troy Deeney, Ismaïla Sarr and Welbeck is certainly full of promise and meant the Hornets’ attacking threat of late is varied. The triumvirate are definitely keeping full-backs and centre-halves honest.
“We’ve played the last couple together and got a couple of wins,” said Welbeck. “It's nice to be back on the pitch and the more we play together, the more of a connection, the more of an understanding [we will have] and know what each other likes to do a little bit more. It’s nice to be back on the pitch, starting and playing alongside these players. Hopefully it starts clicking even more. We've also got players not in the XI who can come on and make a difference. There is a healthy competition.”
Head Coach Nigel Pearson was desperately keen to have a player of Welbeck’s calibre at his disposal, but he was always mindful of not rushing him back from a hamstring injury as he wanted to make sure the 42-cap England forward was available for the entire run-in – not just part of it.
“He's been good,” said Welbeck. “He’s a straight-talking manager and he’ll tell you what he feels is right. He’ll let everybody know what his standards are and what he requires from each and every player. You can talk to him about anything, things off the pitch as well as on it. He’s a real man-manager. You can see the turnaround here. Hopefully we can keep that going.”
