© EuroFootball.com
England's national team and defender Alan Smith remarkably quickly recovered from a very serious injury suffered in February and on Monday already ran onto the field for the reserves of the "Red Devils" team match.
The 25-year-old defender, who played as a striker before joining "Man Utd," played 66 minutes in the 7-2 win in the Lancashire Cup match.
"I felt good in the first half, but in the second half I felt tired, which is why I was substituted," - said the Englishman.
Despite suffering a serious injury in the FA Cup match in February, where his leg broke and his ankle popped out, Smith had realistic chances of playing for England's national team in the World Cup. After this injury, doctors predicted that the player may only return to the field next year.
However, surprisingly quickly recovering, A. Smith was pleased with his progress: "I worked hard all summer. That was my goal. In any case, playing in the reserve team is progress compared to training. Hopefully, after a few weeks, I will have played a couple more matches in the reserve team and will be able to return to the main team."
With the departure of the "goal machine" Ruud van Nistelrooy from the England giants team in the summer, it is very likely that A. Smith will play as a striker again, where he shone in the ranks of "Leeds" before moving to Manchester.
It was "Man Utd" manager Sir Alex Ferguson who decided to convert the player into a defensive midfielder upon acquiring him, but now the coach himself has spoken about allowing A. Smith to play as a striker.
