West Brom's Daryl Dike no longer fearing injuries year on from £7 million move
Daryl Dike no longer has fears over picking up another lengthy injury - and believes his long back to back absences during his first year at West Brom have brought their positives.
Dike, 22, arrived at The Hawthorns from Orlando City for £7 million last January - but his Albion career hasn't gone as he or the club would have hoped for.
Just over 45 minutes into his full debut against Peterborough he picked a hamstring injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
Then after a solid pre-season he tore a thigh muscle in training - an injury which ruled him out until the game before the World Cup winter break.
Since his return to the squad he has netted three times in eight appearances in all competitions - and is finally hitting the consistent form Albion fans wanted to see.
The big US striker, who missed out on a spot at the World Cup with his national side, has explained how he no longer feels fear that he may pick up another injury - and how is injuries have actually brought positives.
He said: "Honestly, I feel great. When I go out onto the pitch, whether it’s training or a game, I don’t really have any fears anymore.
"At the beginning, there were important minutes that I needed to get and doubts kind of creep in in terms of what you can do on the field. For me now though, I feel perfectly fine. I feel great and I’m so thankful for that.
"I’m not going to say that I ever wanted to get injured and that’s certainly not what I’m saying here. But, getting injured for such a long time, it made me learn so much more about my own body.
"It made me learn about what it likes, what it doesn’t like and what it responds well to and what it doesn’t respond well to. On the mental side, I’ve learned how to stay positive and how to think through things and not get down about things and let them eat you alive.
"I think it would be easy to do that and feel sorry for yourself, rather than thinking about how I’m going to bounce back. I had a strong support group around me.
"You never want an injury, but at the end of the day, especially at a young age, it’s something that has taught me a lot and I think the lessons I’ve learnt will stay with me for the rest of my career."
Dike's return to fitness coincided not only with Carlos Corberan's arrival at The Hawthorns - but also Albion's upturn in fortunes on the pitch.
The striker was introduced in the win over Stoke City prior to the World Cup break - and has started a number of games in Albion's recent run.
Dike has revealed what is relationship with the Baggies boss is like - and how he feels Corberancan get the best out of him.
He added: "Him and I have a good relationship. It’s what you want as a player, to have a good relationship with your manager.
"It certainly helps. At the beginning of the process of him joining, I think he took it upon himself to get to know each player in terms of what they’re like on the pitch, how much recovery time each player needs and the workload that they have.
"For me, with my injury history here, he wanted to keep me safe, but at the same time, also wanted to put me in the best possible position to be able to play and compete as well as I could. Throughout that process, both the manager and the medical staff have done a brilliant job of preparing me for action and keeping me healthy."
Since Corberan took over at Albion the starting spot up front has been shared between Dike and summer signing Brandon Thomas-Asante.
On only one occasion have the pair played together which came in the latter stages of the 3-3 FA Cup draw at Chesterfield.
But despite not playing together on the field - off the field Dike has revealed that the fellow forward is his 'homie', and they are driving each other on to get better.
He added: "Brandon and I get along. He’s my homie. We make jokes all the time and we have very similar interests so I think naturally we just get along.
"On the pitch, we’re in the same position but I think that’s what makes us both better players. We both want to succeed.
"I want him to succeed and he wants me to succeed. We push each other every single training session. I think that’s why our bond has grown. Off the pitch we hang out and we’re friends, but on the pitch there is still that little, friendly, competitive nature about us. It drives us both to be better.
"One game he’ll start and then I’ll start. One game he’ll score and then I’ll score. You can kind of see the competition, but in the same breath, you’ll see the support. After a game, he’ll come and pick me up if I didn’t do as well as I would’ve liked."
