Monday 6 January 2020 12:42, UK
Callum Hudson-Odoi says he fears repeating his Achilles tendon injury as he seeks to rediscover his best at Chelsea.
The 19-year-old England international ended a four-month scoring drought as Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Hudson-Odoi, whose breakthrough campaign was cut short last season in April, was left clutching his right Achilles after a heavy tackle and he admits the serious injury has played on his mind during his recovery.
"Obviously there are still times where I think to myself 'If I get kicked on it like today what could happen", and there are times where I think to myself 'If I do a certain movement it will go again,'" said Hudson-Odoi.
"But now as days at training go by, I think if you're confident and do your strengthening work in the gym, it will still be strong and nothing should happen to it again.
"I've been doing work every day with the conditioning coaches to ensure it is strong enough and nothing else happens to it.
"I think I'm close to the point I was before. The player trod on my Achilles which was a bit painful but everything is alright."
Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard praised Hudson-Odoi's performance at Stamford Bridge as a "nice step forward", with the academy graduate hopeful of a run of improved form.
"I have been a bit agitated, thinking to myself that I have had chances and I need to convert more of them, be more clinical in front of goal," Hudson-Odoi told Chelsea TV.
"So in this game, I thought to myself 'Hit it low and hard'. Recently I have been thinking 'Be patient, the goal will come if you be yourself, be calm, everything will go your way'.
"I am really happy that I got the goal and I am looking to build on it and keep going. It is not just about the goal, it is about helping the team, working hard, keeping the ball, and overall I am happy with how everything went."
