Ryan Fredericks says that Fulham’s fine end to the season – which helped the Whites secured a Championship play-off spot – was the perfect way to make up for his injury-ravaged start to the campaign.
The Fulham full back had to start the season with a watching brief after suffering an ankle injury when he was the subject of a shocking tackle during a pre-season friendly with Brighton and Hove Albion. Fredericks trained on his own at Motspur Park as he sought a return to full fitness and even jetted off to Jacksonville to continue his rehabilitation, before returning to the first-team squad as if he’d never been away.
The right back, who quickly displaced the impressive Denis Odoi as Slavisa Jokanovic’s first choice, told GetWestLondon’s Ryan O’Donovan:
This has been the best scenario to the season you could ask for – I was out for the first couple of months and think it was ten or twelve games I missed. At the start of the season I thought it was going to be slow season but since I’ve been back I’ve played most of the games and have been a big part of the team so it has been great.
It was hard and I worked hard, but we have good physio coaches here and had a couple of weeks in America where it was hot and really humid so when I came back I was pretty much there or thereabouts. A couple of weeks sharp training and a couple of 30 minutes here and there in games and I was raring to go.
All thoughts turn to the play-offs and, whilst Fulham are firmly focused on facing third-placed Reading in the first leg of a tough semi-final on Saturday, Fredericks was asked the obligatory question about what performing in a showcase final at the national stadium would mean.
If we played at Wembley and lost it wouldn’t mean anything, but to play there and win would be great. Everyone says it’s the best way to get promoted and hopefully we find that out in a couple of weeks.
