Moses Odubajo BrentfordCharlie Crowhurst/Getty Images

‘I felt like giving up’ – Brentford’s Moses Odubajo reflects on 'tough' injury spell

Brentford defender Moses Odubajo has described his two-year spell on the sidelines as ‘a long road’ with ‘times where he felt like giving up’.

The right-back suffered a knee injury back in July 2017 during Hull City's pre-season training game that ruled him out of football action for over two years.

Subsequently, Odubajo missed the Tigers' underwhelming top-flight campaign despite playing a key role in their promotion to the English Premier League back in the 2016-17 season and also the entirety of last season due to the injury.

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Following his return from the treatment tables, the former Leyton Orient wing-back turned down a new contract at the KCOM Stadium and moved to Brentford on a free following an impressive trial in the summer.

So far, Odubajo has played three matches across all competitions for the Bees this campaign and was handed his first league start in his their 1-1 draw against Leeds United in Saturday’s Championship encounter.

And the Anglo-Nigerian, in action for 76 minutes, has recalled his experience during the spell.

“There were times where I felt like giving up. I think if I said there weren’t dark times I’d be lying,” Odubajo told Independent.

“Luckily I had a lot of good people around me at the time. When I was striving in the gym, and everyone was outside, the lads would come in, gee me up and ask how things are. Even the manager at the time, Marco Silva, showed a keen interest in how my recovery was going.

“But it’s been tough. It’s been a long road, you know. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

“I felt good, especially coming to a ground like this, where the atmosphere is one of the best in the league. It just felt amazing for me to finally be classed as a fit player.”

Brentford are placed seventh in the Championship table with four wins and six draws from 12 games so far.

And the 25-year-old has lauded manager Dean Smith and his backroom staff for the team’s 'comfortable' style of play this term.

“In training there just feels like there’s a swagger about how we train and how we play. I think everyone’s on the same page and that helps a lot and everyone’s comfortable on the ball and I know we can give it to our teammates in situations where they’re under pressure,” he added.

“You’ve seen the number of players who’ve left the club over the last three or four seasons.

“It’s a compliment to the style of football that we play. If this game [against Leeds] was probably two seasons ago it wouldn’t be on the box. But you can see how far the club’s come and that’s credit to the manager, the coaching staff and the players.”

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