Leading striker Asamoah Gyan is feeling the strain of his most frustrating season at Al Ain following a series of injuries and suspensions.
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Gyan, 29, has been a roaring success since joining the Boss – initially on loan – from Premier League outfit Sunderland in 2011. Three successive Arabian Gulf League top scorer awards have been earned during a prolific spell which has included 93 goals in 77 appearances in that competition alone.
This term has been much more fragmented for the Ghana captain though, featuring in 11 of 20 top-flight matches and only being fit enough to be an ineffective 74th-minute substitute during Friday’s 1-0 Arabian Gulf Super Cup defeat to Al Ahli.
That cameo followed a quadriceps problem and subsequent infection which first occurred during the warm-up for the 1-1 AGL draw at Al Dhafra on March 13.
Happy to have got some minutes of playtime back from injury, not the ideal result tho: http://t.co/oEttTD12ML
— ASAMOAH GYAN (@ASAMOAH_GYAN3) March 28, 2015
In contrast, Gyan started all 26 league matches last term as his club limped into sixth and every clash during the run to the 2014 AFC Champions League semi-finals.
When asked whether this has been his most frustrating season at Al Ain, he replied: “Yes, it has been a frustrating season but everyone knows what I can do when I am a 100 per cent fit – that is most important for me.
“I believe in my quality. When I am fit, I know what I can do. I’ve been suffering a lot. I am struggling to play, I have missed three games recently.
“This is not good for me. I felt a bit better on Thursday in training and they decided to let me take to the field [in the Super Cup].
“Unfortunately we lost, but my health is more important. I have to continue working hard and we will see about the next game if I can be fully fit.
“I am a bit frustrated right now. Last season, I played all the games for 90 minutes. I played the AFC Champions League for 90 minutes, then I went to the World Cup and played every game.
“It has been a stressful season for me. I am a professional player and I need to take good care of my body.”
Meanwhile, Al Ahli captain Luis Jimenez has set his sights on salvaging a second piece of silverware from what had looked a season to forget. The Red Knights have dropped dramatically from their 2013/14 treble success, yet Friday’s victory could herald the start of better fortunes.
Chile playmaker Jimenez was hopeful a long-awaited boost in confidence could carry his team forward in the months to come.
“It has been a difficult season for us,” the 30-year-old said. “But, it is a title. “It gives us good confidence for the rest of the season. We try to keep this way for the rest of the season.
“We have some targets, we spoke a few weeks ago about targeting the President’s Cup and passing our group in the AFC Champions League. When you get a trophy, it is very important for morale.”
