Lee Johnson: The timing has to be right to bring out Bristol City summer signing Gustav Engvall please log in to view this image Gustav Engvall Gustav Engvall is nearing the point where he can begin to show Bristol City fans what he can do. Signed from IFK Gothenburg for £2.5m in August, the 20-year-old Sweden international has experienced a frustrating couple of months in England. Troubled by a medial knee ligament injury when he first arrived, Engvall has been restricted to just one appearance for the Robins, making his debut in an EFL Cup third round tie at Fulham on September 21. Visibly lacking in match fitness, he was substituted after an hour of the game at Craven Cottage and has not made it onto the pitch since. But the forward is back in full-time training with City's first team squad and head coach Lee Johnson has been pleased with his progress in recent days. Johnson revealed: "Gustav has been doing really well in the last three or four training sessions. He seems to have really got to grips with what we are about and the way we want to play. "I think it's really difficult to come across to a different country, especially when you are so young, and he's had a six-week injury on top of all that. "That set him back and his fitness levels have to be brought back up. He also needs to restore trust in the knee after a medial ligament injury. This is his first experience of this type of injury and he needs to get back to shooting, going into block tackles and hitting volleys. "We feel we just want to get the timing right before we bring him back again." http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/lee-jo...stav-engvall/story-29819751-detail/story.html
A knee ligament injury is not something that can be rushed back. It has to be right, or it can put him out for another 6 months. Also he has to re-examine his game and build up his confidence in the knee. Its a bit like getting a new steering column for your car, or something like. Shearer said he had to change the way he ran to accommodate the restructured limb joint. Gazza's battle with the injury is well documented. As I understand it, he got the injury playing in an international after he was signed. If true, this is terrible luck for us and for him. All we can do is send best wishes and support on this board for a speedy recuperation, and hope we see him this season. Reasons to be cheerful ? Yes. He was highly regarded when we signed him (over 2 million), and he is only 20. He could be banging them in for another 5 years in BS3