Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez has revealed that he is feeling mentally and physically stronger as a result of his lengthy injury layoff.
The 25-year-old has yet to feature for the Saints since rupturing his anterior cruciate knee ligament against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in April 2014.
It has been a frustrating 13 months for Rodriguez, who was expected to feature in Roy Hodgson's World Cup plans last summer before being struck down by injury, although a comeback is now on the horizon.
"I've got stronger mentally, because it's been a tough time," he told BBC Sport. "Physically I've improved my stats. That's what I wanted to get out of this. I've improved my speed and strength."
Having made a return to full training, the former Burnley man could now feature this weekend at the same venue he suffered the setback last year.
"It's not been the best but it could have been a lot worse," he added. "I've got great friends and family that have stuck by me and made it a lot easier. It's a testing one but it's made me stronger mentally and physically.
"I built it up to be a tough journey and I thought if I can maximise each day and work as hard as I can then that's the least I can do. I took it week by week."
Southampton are currently seventh in the Premier League table heading into the final round of fixtures.
Daniel Lewis
