Michael Cooper: Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper 'strongest he has ever been' after return from injury
- Published
Michael Cooper kept a clean sheet for Plymouth Argyle against West Bromwich Albion on his return from injury on Saturday
Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Michael Cooper says he is the 'strongest that I have ever been' after his return from a long-term knee injury.
Cooper, 24, ended an eight-and-a-half month lay-off in the 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday - his first-ever game in the Championship.
He had not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at Sheffield Wednesday in February.
"It's been a wild journey but I'm back now and it feels good," Cooper said.
"It was out of the blue really, so I guess that made it easier for me to wrap my head around it early doors that it was just one of those things that's happened," he told BBC Radio Devon.
"You can't really prevent those sort of injuries from happening, they're very spontaneous, so it is what it is.
"The last eight-and-a-half months I've been getting stronger every day and just improving, and thankfully I can just put it behind me now and just keep going forward."
He added: "The last three months have been the most difficult because after six months you feel like you're back to normal and you can do what you want, but you can't, you're still not as strong as you need to be, so that's been the tricky bit.
"But now I'm at my strongest that I feel I've ever been, so I'm feeling good."
Since his injury Argyle have added Northern Ireland goalkeeper Conor Hazard to their ranks after his summer move from Celtic alongside Cooper's understudy last season Callum Burton.
It meant more competition for Cooper, who was a virtual ever-present under manager Steven Schumacher and his predecessor Ryan Lowe since the start of the 2020-21 season and seen as one of the most promising young goalkeepers in England.
"I got told we were going to sign another goalie in the summer before it happened," Cooper said.
"It didn't matter who was coming through the door, I was always going to give them 100% support, no matter who was playing, either himself [Hazard] or Cal.
"I thought he [Hazard] has done well, but the gaffer's given me an opportunity since being fit so I'm just going to try and take it with my own two hands now and get back to where I felt I was before the injury.
"I wasn't expecting to be straight back in if I was honest, but I was ready to be.
"I was ready for him to tell me I was playing, but not necessarily expecting it, so for him to come over and tell me earlier in the week was a big help for me to prepare for the game on Saturday after such a long time out."