Jeff Reine-Adélaïde has revealed battling back from a serious knee injury has been "very hard", but the Olympique Lyonnais man is now happily on the road to a full recovery.
Reine-Adélaïde ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the 1-0 Ligue 1 defeat to Rennes on 15 December, the same game in which teammate Memphis Depay also suffered a season-ending injury.
While Depay has been highly visible on social media as he charts his comeback, Reine-Adélaïde has been less of a public presence, and told his club's TV channel it has been a long, tough road.
"The day after the operation, I started working with the physios. It's been very tough and testing," said the former Arsenal player. "I then went to Clairefontaine for a change of scenery. It's really hard to see your teammates training while you're on the sidelines. I also went to Martinique for two weeks on holiday. That helped me a lot."
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Reine-Adélaïde had been enjoying an impressive first season at OL since his move from Angers last summer. The 22-year-old provided two goals and three assists in 14 Ligue 1 appearances for OL, and helped lay the groundwork that took the seven-time French champions into the UEFA Champions League Last 16 before injury struck.
"It's a long-haul job," the France U21 international explained. "You can't drop off even when it sometimes gets tough. There are times you don't want to do the exercises. I could have cut corners, but I had goals in my head.
"Those goals also help you not to slacken of. There's a lot of physical and mental fatigue which builds up. I've been able to cope with that thanks to the medical staff and my family, who have been such a good thing for me."
