THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
~PART 4~

Christmas itself was wonderful. For the first time it was a family occasion in the Shearer household. Normally it is one of the busiest times of the year on the fixture programme for professional footballers and we are usually whisked away to a hotel at some stage on Christmas Day. We have to be very careful not to over-indulge but this year I could afford to eat, drink and be merry without having to worry. My parents and Lainya's joined us and the children, and we had a truly memorable time.

The big breakthrough came when I took part in a oractice match for the reserves against the youth team on 12 January. A small but very interested group of spectators was there to witness my first full ninety minutes of football since the injury, including Kenny Dalglish, Terry McDermott, the physios Derek Wright and Paul Ferris and the specialist Rob Gregory. I could not believe how well it went. I felt tired at the start of the second half but got my second wind and finished the game strongly. I managed to hit one of the goals in a 5-0 win -a shot from twenty yards which was deflected into the net-but that was as important as the fact that I finished the whole match. There were areas of my game I needed to sharpen. For instance, I had forgotten how quickly you have to move your feet to receive the ball and lay it off in tight situations and I knew I had to put in some extra work on that. I went home for a long soak in the bath and fell asleep for a couple of hours, feeling really pleased with myself.

I managed to work the stiffness out of my joints over the next few days and Kenny Dalglish called me in to see him on the eve of out home game against Bolton. He asked me how I felt and I said I was fine.

'I don't think you're really ready to start the match but I'm thinking of making you sub,' he said, 'but I would rather sleep on it first. Come in early tomorrow and we'll have another chat.'

Straightaway I went into my pre-match routine. I had an early night, a lie-in until around 10.30 next morning and a light breakfast and lunch. It was with a mixture of nerves and excitement that I drove to St James' Park.

'Do you fancy it then?' Kenny asked.

'Sure I do,' I replied.

'OK. You're on the bench.'

It gave me a real buzz to see the No.9 shirt laid out in the dressing - room again after so long and I realized how much I had missed and the banter and patter with the rest of the lads as we went through out pre-kick-off ritual. There were only a few thousand fans inside the stadium when I ran out for my warm-up but they gave me a rousing welcome. So, too, did my former team-mate Peter Beardsley who had joined Bolton earlier in the season. He came over and gave me a hug and a handshake.

'Great to see you back.' Peter said.

To be continued...

<< BACK TO MAIN PAGE