The Sky Blues are coming up to two weeks into their pre-season schedule and it’s been a special occasion for one man in particular.
After missing out on the previous two years, City winger, Jodi Jones has finally been able to begin a pre-season after years of torrid injuries.
Jodi is currently with the rest of the Sky Blues out in Scotland ahead of the clash against Rangers and he spoke of his joy at heading north of the border.
“I feel good to be fair, it’s a nice feeling to get away with all the boys because I didn’t get to go away last year so it feels good.
“I feel blessed just to be able to come back on a mini-tour and be able to play football.”
After returning to the City side towards the end of 2019, Jodi spent the early stages of 2020 rebuilding his fitness and aiming for a place in the first team.
However, after getting so far, the suspension of football not only halted City’s progress, but also the progress of their number 7.
Reflecting on the break in football, Jodi revealed his disappointment in missing out on action, but looked on the brighter side of the scenario.
“I speak with my family and agent a lot since I picked up my injuries because I needed a lot of help and they’ve said, the break in football was a blessing in disguise for me because I’d just come back and I was getting games under my belt with the 23s and I felt good and nice and strong.
“Then I got my new contract, and then Covid hit and I thought it had killed my chances because I had just got back, but then maybe it was a blessing in disguise because it gave me a bit more time to rest my knee because it had been through a lot so it was nice to have that break even though I missed football a lot.”
One thing Jodi is looking to get out of this pre-season is minutes under his belt, as he looks to return to match fitness.
“When I came back I could only really play 23s games, so I would play 90 minutes on a Monday and then sometimes on a Friday and then I played 20 minutes against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup and I was blowing.
“It just shows how different it is and you can only get match fit by playing games and tomorrow gives me that chance against a good side who are unbeaten in pre-season at the moment.”
Analysing his own situation at the moment, Jodi is happy to not have to play catch-up for the third year in a row and join in with the rest of the lads.
“It feels normal and playing football is normal for me and it’s nice to just get away and be a part of it again.
“I feel good, I feel strong and we’re all in the same boat because we’ve all had the same time off and it’s not a thing where I’m playing catch up.
“I am in a way because I was out for so long and my touch isn’t quite back to where it was, but I’m not playing catch up massively.”