Fresh from signing his new contract at Oakwell earlier this week, Charlie Winfield stated that this will provide another timely morale boost as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.
Our young full-back damaged his ACL back in December, but the Club has shown faith and belief that he will return from his setback stronger than ever.
“I’m over the moon,” he beamed. “Especially while I’m injured; it just gives me that bit more motivation to get back fit.”
After spending six months on loan with Esbjerg fB, Winfield returned to South Yorkshire to link up with the first team before sustaining his unfortunate injury in training.
He made 16 appearances and scored two goals as he racked up more than 1,000 minutes of football while out in Scandinavia, and it was always the main aim to perform well to help secure his Reds future.
“That was one of the goals I set myself; to try and get a new deal while I was out there and, luckily, I’ve managed to do that now I’m injured,” continued the 20-year-old.
“I believed in myself and I was confident enough that, when I was out in Denmark, I did enough to earn a new deal.”
Now, the target is to work his way back to full fitness, but it will be a lengthy process and one that cannot be rushed.
However, Winfield is optimistic about his prospects of featuring upon his return with Martin Devaney and Tom Harban involved in the senior set-up, and plenty of youngsters have been given opportunities to impress in the closing stages of the campaign.
“My main one is to get back fit and hopefully progress into the first team, get some minutes and hopefully establish myself from there,” he said.
“Having Daverz and Tom up there with the first team, it gives us a pathway to the first team, which is good.
“Watching them come on from the side, it does give you that motivation and that little fire inside to think ‘that’ll be me when I’m back’.”
