Josh Sargent: Norwich striker happy to be back following injury
- Published
Josh Sargent joined Norwich from German club Werder Bremen in the summer of 2021
Norwich City striker Josh Sargent says he still needs to "get in shape" after scoring his first goal since a four-month injury lay-off.
The United States international damaged ankle ligaments against Huddersfield Town on 26 August.
The injury needed surgery but he marked his second substitute appearance since then with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Southampton on New Year's Day.
"I didn't feel my ankle at all," Sargent told BBC Radio Norfolk.
"Coming back from injury, in your head you think 'am I going to be the same player, is everything going to work out?' so it's amazing to get on the scoresheet and hopefully I can return to good form.
"It's been a long time, I still need to get in shape, my conditioning needs to get better, but it's obviously a very good feeling to be back on the pitch with the boys."
Sargent, who said he now tapes both ankles before games as a precaution, began the season with three goals in five matches, but following his injury, the Canaries only managed two wins in the next 11.
The 23-year-old said he felt "a bit lost and hopeless" in that period, but his injury coincided with the the arrival of a new baby and he was able to enjoy some family time during his rehab.
Norwich's form picked up from mid-November and the point against third-placed Southampton kept them 13th, just five points below the top six.
"We started the season so well and then it started falling apart a bit, it was a bit confusing," Sargent added.
"But we have strung together a few results, we're hanging around the play-off spots so we've just got to get into a good rhythm again.
"We have everybody pretty much back from injury and we're looking forward now to hopefully getting some more (good) results."
Despite being the home side against Saints, Norwich only had 25% of possession and were outplayed for much of the contest.
"It wasn't the best match for us, but it was a new formation and we didn't have a whole lot of time, with all the games going on (over Christmas and New Year), to get the formation down but the boys stuck at it and got a point out of the game," Sargent said.
"It was the boss's decision to put us in that formation and we did the best we could."