Norwich City: Jonathan Rowe raring to go after injury woes
Jon Rowe is ready to be unleashed at Norwich City after shaking off the injury woes that halted his progress last season.
The highly-rated winger is set to play a major role in David Wagner’s Championship squad next term after being limited to only three appearances last season due to fitness issues.
After the way, his Norwich career raced out of the blocks, that served as a real disappointment to Rowe and the club themselves who harbour high hopes for the London-born attacker.
Upon his return to the first-team set-up, Rowe’s determination to hit the ground running and make up for lost time was palpable as he opened up on a frustrating 12 months in his development.
“I can’t even put into words how hungry I’ve been to come back and make my impact,” the winger said. “I feel like I’ve been wanting to do this for years. Hopefully this season I can show what I can do, achieve my goals and get this club back in the Premier League.
“It is part of football, but what I went through was the extreme part of that. Coming back, getting injured, having surgery, coming back again, then getting injured again at a point when I could have played – it was tough mentally.
“That gave me the confidence to know that if I can get through that, then what on earth can stop me? I’m looking forward to getting on.
“I’ve got a good support network around me and my faith played a huge part in that as well. It’s not easy, especially as a young lad, you feel like you’re missing out and that other people are getting ahead of you but you have to stay calm, trust the process and trust God’s plan.
“Adversities challenge your character and knowing if you can get through them or not really shows your true colours to yourself. I learned during the tough times that I have a really tough spirit and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot about myself, more than I thought I would.”
Rowe was thrust into the limelight at Norwich with a series of Premier League cameos at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
That inability to kick on further has been a real source of frustration for the 20-year-old, who has held onto those memories to keep him motivated during his recovery and rehabilitation.
“It feels like a long time ago now. You have to use that to keep yourself positive during the difficult times,” Rowe said.
“That is what I did. I made sure I reminded myself of what I’ve done so far, whether it’s a little or a lot. I wanted to make sure I had the hunger and desire to come back and prepared to fight to get back to where I was and even better to become a better player.”
