Melbourne Victory midfielder Gui Finkler says he is thrilled to be back on the pitch this pre-season.
Melbourne Victory midfielder Gui Finkler says he is thrilled to be back on the pitch this pre-season.
The Brazilian, who has now returned to the pitch following his 2012/13 season-ending knee injury, said it was important for him to build up his match fitness ahead of the upcoming Hyundai A-League campaign.
Finkler made his initial return to the pitch against VPL side Hume City, playing 20 minutes as a substitute. He followed that up with another 20 minutes against Brisbane Roar.
The 27-year-old made his first start against Newcastle Jets earlier this week, where he played the entire first half.
“It’s a huge step back for me playing 45 minutes, but I know I have a lot of work to do, but step-by-step we get there,” Finkler said.
“It’s really exciting for me. It’s been eight and a half months since I got the injury, but now I’m feeling pretty good now I am back playing and now hopefully improving as I go.”
Finkler said the months of hard work weren’t over yet, with plenty of more time to come in the gym and on the training track.
“Get more game time and work hard in the training with the ball, even if you are fit you have to improve all the time – for me it’s more about improvement than anything else.”
Finkler, along with the rest of his teammates will now turn their attention to the upcoming game against Western Sydney Wanderers on September 29, as the squad prepares to head to Tasmania for a pre-season camp next week.
“I’m looking forward to going to Tasmania again, hopefully we can get in some great training time and we get another friendly to try and improve even further.”
