John McKinney: I've been sticking to my rehabilitation plan and I feel great now.
2026-03-20 02:39
John McGinn once again played a crucial role in helping Aston Villa advance to the Europa League quarterfinals. The Scottish midfielder, with numerous highlights throughout his Aston Villa career, stepped up again against Lille, opening the scoring.
Given the team's recent dip in form, the 2-0 victory and 3-0 aggregate win that night were undoubtedly exhilarating. John McGinn said, "I feel a great responsibility to get the team moving again. I know the effort we've put in to make this a fortress, the constant fighting, and the running on the field."
“I had a hard time adapting to the pace of the game in the first half, but things improved on Sunday and I felt more relaxed. You get a refreshed feeling. Thank goodness I played the full 60 minutes, and hopefully I'll get more playing time on Sunday.”
John McGinn was sidelined for nearly two months with an injury, only returning last week for the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 against the French club. The captain quickly regained his form, demonstrating the hard work he put in during his recovery period, which allowed him to return to the field in good condition.
He added, "It's really difficult when the team isn't in good form and you can only recover in the physiotherapy room. Among Yuri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and me, I had the shortest recovery time and was quite lucky, but I still got back on the field as soon as possible."
“I understand that the situation could be more serious, so I must stay focused and take my rehabilitation seriously. I’ve been lucky throughout my career with few injuries, but I’ve made some mistakes in my past rehabilitation process, trying to take shortcuts and rushing things. This time, I’ve stuck to the plan, and I feel great now.”
Image source: Internet/Aston Villa official website
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