Pedro Neto opens up on his Wolves injury nightmare

Having suffered a rare and awkward broken kneecap injury, Neto made a shock return after 10 months at the weekend.

Originally set to return in October, the 21-year-old suffered a setback in his recovery and has now opened up on his arduous journey back.

“It was difficult, I will be honest,” he told the Express & Star.

“Sometimes we think that nothing will happen to us and only when we they do happen you have to put your feet on the earth and realise you have a long way to go.

“During these 10 months it was very difficult and I worked very hard a lot.

“I had difficult times but now I’m back and I’m very happy.

“When I was doing the recovery very well I had a setback. It was a difficult time.

“I wouldn’t say it was more difficult than the first one, because that one was a shock and it’s a rare injury for a footballer, but the day I had the setback I just thought, ‘OK, I have one more challenge that I have to go through’. I worked harder than I was working and now I’m back.”

Neto impressed in his 15-minute spell on Sunday as he put in an energetic display.

Despite his confidence on the field, the forward says he must build his way back up slowly.

“My mentality now is to, first, go step by step,” Neto added.

“We have to be honest, I had 10 months away from the pitch, but I am now coming back.

“I have to get more game time, because training is not the same as playing, but I am really confident in what I can do.

“I am really confident that with time I will be arrive at my full form and I will be better than I was before.”

Neto has rejoined a Wolves team that is flying high and in the hunt for the European spots.

But the Portuguese star was not surprised at how well his team-mates have performed in his absence.

He added: “I was not surprised – the coach brought a lot of ideas and if we do what he wants, we have the players to do well.

“The mentality and the quality are both there and the ideas are also there.

“We have to put those ideas and quality on matches, so I was not surprised at how well the team was doing.”

Since Neto last played there has been a change of manager following Nuno Espirito Santo’s departure.

Bruno Lage has impressed at the helm and Neto says the head coach has helped him in his recovery.

“He’s helped me of course,” Neto said.

“At the beginning I didn’t have a lot of his ideas because I was doing my recovery in Portugal, but when I came back he was there to help me.

“When I started training he gave me the feedback I needed to come back.

“He gives a lot of confidence to the players and you can see that in the way we play. He’s very good.”