Ricardo Pereira has been speaking to Sky Sports in England about his ongoing recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered last month. The Portuguese has already been ruled out for the rest of the season, but Ricardo is pleased with the progress being made.
The former Porto man also has words of praise for current Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, whom he credits with being a major factor in the Foxes being in contention for Champions League qualification in the Premier League.
Ricard, 26, was diagnosed with an ACL tear after Leicester’s match with Aston Villa last month, with the blow of missing the remainder of the campaign compounded – at that stage – with the prospect of missing the European Championships with the Seleção. The latter concern has now been removed with the postponement of the tournament, leaving Ricard to focus on getting fit again.
"Each day I feel better"
"It's going well,” he said. “It was tough in the first few days; I had a lot of pains from the surgery and it was difficult to move, like when going to the toilet or something.
"But each day I feel better, I've got more power in my leg and I'm aware of movements that I didn't have after the surgery which is good because I feel improvements every day.
"Since I've had the surgery I've been at home. I wake up, come downstairs and do my rehab. Most of the things I can do now I can do from home, like three or four times a week I do a video call with my physio to do some exercises for him to see how it is.
"I've been watching TV series and films, and being with the family - that's my day."
Ricardo’s team are currently 3rd in the Premier League having surprises many with the extent of their progress under highly-rated boss Rodgers, but the Portugal man is quick to ensure his coach gets plenty of recognition for his role in the impressive team showing so far.
“Since he arrived, we've changed for the better," Ricardo said. "As a team and an individual, I think he's played a big part in our success and I think with him we can keep going like this."
By Sean Gillen
