Daryl Dike: West Brom's injury-ravaged USA striker had 'Am I ever going to be same again?' doubts
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Daryl Dike (left) and Jed Wallace were involved in both Albion goals at the Stadium Of Light
Fit-again West Bromwich Albion striker Daryl Dike admits he was scared he might never be the same player after his lost year of injuries.
After coming off the bench to score the winner at Sunderland, his first goal in over a year, the United States international said he asked himself: "Am I ever going to be the same again?"
The £7m New Year's Day signing managed less than 90 minutes' action last term.
And Dike had only managed two late substitute appearances this season.
A hamstring injury 55 minutes into his first start for then boss Val Ismael, the man who signed him, was then followed by a knee tendon problem that ruled him out for the season in March.
Steve Bruce, Albion's second manager of 2022, did not get the chance to pick him again until the opening weekend of this season when Dike made a late substitute appearance at Middlesbrough, only to then sustain a "substantial" tear to his thigh in training.
"You're scared to get back on the pitch, thinking 'am I going to get injured again? Am I ever going to be the same again?'," Dike told BBC Radio WM.
"But the Albion staff have worked with me and given me the courage to go around and do things to full strength without worrying, and proving to myself I can still go on the pitch and do the same things I used to do."
Daryl Dike suffered the first of his three lengthy injuries on his one and only start for Albion - at home to Peterborough on 25 January
Dike made his first appearance for Albion's latest boss Carlos Corberan when he came on as an 89th-minute substitute in the Baggies' last game before the month-long World Cup break, the 2-0 home win over Stoke.
After a further month to work on the striker's fitness, Corberan erred on the side of caution in the sub-zero temperatures of freezing Wearside fog, on the coldest day in the UK since 2010, by leaving Dike on the bench.
But, with Albion 1-0 down, after turning to him in the 64th minute as a straight replacement for Brandon Thomas-Asante, within 20 minutes, Dike had helped turn the game.
First he laid back Jed Wallace's half-cleared cross into the path of Tom Rogic for the equaliser, then he himself got on the end of another even better right-wing Wallace delivery to power home a near-post header for the winner.
It was his first goal since scoring on his final MLS appearance for Orlando City at Nashville in November 2021, a month prior to the former Barnsley loan striker's return to English club football - and he was quick to thank the supply line.
"Jed puts in about 72 crosses a game," he said. "It's great to have a player like that.
"Every time he gets it, I know he's going to put in a good ball. It's my job to make sure I'm at least on the end of them."
West Brom matchwinner Daryl Dike began the coldest night in the UK since February 2021 on the bench at Sunderland
On a night when the Albion players were wearing black armbands to honour club doctor Julian Widdowson, who died from a heart attack at his home in Bath on Saturday, Dike admitted he was doubly "overwhelmed with emotion".
"I've had the support of a lot of people," he said.
"I'm not going to say I'm happy that it [the injuries] happened but it's something I've learned from. I've learnt about my body. I've learnt about me, physically and mentally. It's taught me a lot. It's something I can carry forward on and off the pitch.
"It was so cold and you know there are a lot of people at home, keeping warm, watching on TV - but it's great to have the fans with us, always pushing us. To have them there behind you is a great feeling. The one thing Carlos talks about is 'never giving up, never giving in'. And we showed that resilience and the togetherness of the squad.
"Getting a win was important but, from a personal point of view, to get on the scoresheet was something I have now got off my shoulders.
"All I've tried to do throughout all this time is just get on the pitch and make an impact - and now I've finally managed to do that."
Daryl Dike was talking to BBC Radio WM's Rob Gurney.
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