Daryl Dike lifts lid on injury fears and achieving personal West Brom goal
Daryl Dike shared a rare moment of joy at West Brom this week after opening his goalscoring tally for the club with a winner against Sunderland.
Dike joined the Baggies back in January for £7million [Daily Mail] after enjoying promising spells at Orlando City and Barnsley. However, the US striker has hugely struggled with injury ever since.
He’s made just one start for West Brom since his move, but he returned to the pitch as a substitute against Sunderland on Monday and netted the winner to extend Albion’s winning streak to four games.
It was a huge moment for the 22-year-old striker, who spoke openly about his injury fears after the full-time whistle.
“I’m just overwhelmed with emotion, I think throughout all this time all I’ve been wanting to do is just get on the pitch, make an impact and help the guys in the squad,” Dike said, as quoted by Express & Star.
“Luckily I was able to do that, getting the win is important but for a personal goal to be able to get on the scoresheet, having that big relief and weight off my shoulders. For these past few months it’s taught me a lot and is something I’ll carry over on and off the pitch.
“With that you could always be scared to get back on the pitch, thinking ‘oh am I going to get injured again?’ ‘Am I ever going to be the same again?’
“But for me, luckily with the staff and everyone who has worked with me, giving me the courage to go around and do things to full strength without worrying, is great.”
Fresh start
Dike was brought in by Steve Bruce to be the club’s main striker, but sadly his persistent injury issues made it extremely difficult for him to settle down at West Brom.
But Dike has dug deep and finally returned to full fitness – marking his return with his first goal too. There’s no doubt that he can lead the line for the Baggies if he stays fit, and he certainly has the full backing of the West Brom faithful.
He showed against Sunderland exactly how much he can trouble opposition defences, and he will be a crucial part of Carlos Corberan’s plans as the Spaniard launches a late playoff push.
Corberan will likely take it easy putting Dike back into action and he’ll probably continue to make cameos from the bench until his match fitness improves.
But his firepower improves West Brom considerably. Brandon Thomas-Asante and Karlan Grant will also be itching to get among the goals this season, and the Albion trio will be looking to shoot West Brom up the table in the coming weeks.
In other West Brom news, Nigel Quashie piles praise on Daryl Dike for his performance against Sunderland