Striker Speaks To Official Website About Return From Injury
- Vale were beaten 1-0 by local rivals Crewe Alexandra at the weekend.
- Pope made his return from injury from the bench after three months out.
- The Striker was delighted to be back playing again and has thanked club's medical staff.
Port Vale striker Tom Pope has expressed his delight at returning to first team action during the defeat against Crewe Alexandra on Saturday.
The 29-year-old forward has been out since October through injury and was a 61st minute substitute at the weekend as a Nicky Ajose goal condemned Vale to a 1-0 loss.
Speaking to port-vale.co.uk after the match, Pope said: “It was good to be back involved and be there and ready if Pagey needed me and I was glad to get some minutes under my belt.
“I’m enjoying it, I’m back out and back in training. I’ve got a smile on my face again for the first time in a while.”
Pope also had special praise for the club’s medical team for their efforts at getting him back to fitness.
“James and his staff have been excellent and spent a lot of hard hours getting me right," he added.
They’ve had to hold me back a bit because for a few weeks now I’ve been itching to get back and they’ve been telling me thats not the right thing to do. I can’t thank them enough.”
Despite his return, Pope was understandably disappointed by the result, saying: “I thought we played well in spells and were very poor in spells. We started the game bright and within first 15 to 20 minutes could’ve been 2-0 up.
“Then we started to look nervy. They got the penalty, Neal’s made a great save and then they score straight after.”
The 29-year-old forward has been out since October through injury and was a 61st minute substitute at the weekend as a Nicky Ajose goal condemned Vale to a 1-0 loss.
Speaking to port-vale.co.uk after the match, Pope said: “It was good to be back involved and be there and ready if Pagey needed me and I was glad to get some minutes under my belt.
“I’m enjoying it, I’m back out and back in training. I’ve got a smile on my face again for the first time in a while.”
Pope also had special praise for the club’s medical team for their efforts at getting him back to fitness.
“James and his staff have been excellent and spent a lot of hard hours getting me right," he added.
They’ve had to hold me back a bit because for a few weeks now I’ve been itching to get back and they’ve been telling me thats not the right thing to do. I can’t thank them enough.”
Despite his return, Pope was understandably disappointed by the result, saying: “I thought we played well in spells and were very poor in spells. We started the game bright and within first 15 to 20 minutes could’ve been 2-0 up.
“Then we started to look nervy. They got the penalty, Neal’s made a great save and then they score straight after.”