AFTER WHAT he describes as a “very special night” captaining Manchester United to a comfortable win over the Airtricity League XI, John O’Shea is looking forward to returning to the Aviva Stadium next Wednesday for the Republic of Ireland’s game against Argentina which, he hopes, will be another early highlight in what has the potential to be a memorable season for the 29-year-old from Waterford.
Last year was a deeply frustrating one for the Irishman, who had to endure more than five months on the sidelines as a result of an injury picked up in Paris during the Republic’s ill-fated World Cup play-off.
It was April before O’Shea kicked a ball in anger again, a deep disappointment for a player who features regularly in Alex Ferguson’s sides, thanks in part to his tremendous versatility.
“I thought I was going to be back within a week or 10 days, to be honest, but the next thing the doctor said to me was that I could be out for six months. It was kind of a strange feeling when you’ve never really been injured,” he recalls.
“It was Shay (Given) who did it to me. Shay’s knee just went full force into the middle of my quad muscle. It caused blood and because it went so deep bone cells grew as well. Once the calcification starts, you just have to wait for it to dissolve again; it’s not in a natural place and eventually it goes away.
“I did get back towards the end of the season but I was nowhere near fully fit. My leg is feeling great now so there are no problems. I’m definitely gaining with every game I play.”
O’Shea’s return will be a major boost to Ferguson, who has made no secret of how much he appreciates the all-rounder. The Waterford man is not the only one at United hoping to put injury problems behind him, though, and there has also been an addition or two to bolster a squad that came up a little short on most fronts last season.
The aim is to challenge for the very biggest prizes again this time and overcome what O’Shea reckons will be a collection of the usual suspects.
“Hopefully we’ll get our title back and challenge again for the Champions League. We need competition for places within the squad if we’re going to do it but we’ll have more of that this year.
“We saw on the tour of America, young players like (Federico) Macheda, (Danny) Welbeck and (Tom) Cleverley. Whether the manager decides to integrate them into the squad this year and give them a bit more experience is up to him but some of the talent we have is terrific.
“Chicarito (Javier Hernandez) is a great addition too; he’ll get goals. When the chances come he seems to be in the right place.
“There’s Chris Smalling too,” he adds. “He’s a natural athlete and nice and composed on the ball as well.”
United just might need all of them to perform strongly if they are going to overcome cross city rivals Manchester City and defending Premier League champions Chelsea (not to mention the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool) during the months ahead.
“The players they (City) are signing seem to be of fantastic quality and they already had a good enough squad,” he says. “It’s a question of whether they can all mix together quickly. It’s wait and see time.
“As for Chelsea, they’ve tweaked their squad a little bit with just one or two additions but it will be the usual names, I think.”
O’Shea and co could strike an early psychological blow by winning this weekend’s Community Shield, although O’Shea readily admits that while winning would be nice, the game will not seen as all that significant come the end of the season.
“We want to win it but the be-all and end-all of the season will be at the end of May 2011. They won’t really remember the Community Shield then.”
Wednesday’s win at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road would, of course, be forgotten by most fans too. O’Shea, though, insists it is a memory he will cherish long after his playing days are over.
