“It’s a miracle” – Injured Super Eagles star Umar Sadiq reveals ahead-of-schedule return date

The Nigeria international suffered a career-threatening injury three games into his long-term deal with Real Sociedad

Super Eagles striker Umar Sadiq has provided a heart-pleasing update regarding his recovery from the injury that he suffered in September.

After earning a big-money move to Real Sociedad from Almeria, Umar Sadiq hit the ground running with a goal in his first two games for the White and Blues.

But Sadiq lasted only 38 minutes in his third appearance for Real Sociedad in a league clash against Getafe before he fell awkwardly on his knee and had to be replaced.

The Nigerian forward was later diagnosed to have suffered an MCL Knee Ligament Injury, and it was expected that he would not be able to kick a ball for at least six months.

But Sadiq has enjoyed a remarkable recovery and he could be back working on the pitch as early as January, only four months after he had the surgery to fix his wound.

And the former Partizan Belgrade star is convinced that fans will see him return to competitive action by the end of February.

“I will be four months into my operation and rehabilitation by next month but I feel good already and will resume working on the pitch next month,” Sadiq told OwnGoal.

“That is way ahead of my schedule, It's a miracle that even my doctors can't believe. I am supposed to be out for at least six months and the doctors insist it has to be that time frame.

“However, I have been told I must be 150% (laughs) fit before I can return in order not to suffer a relapse but from the look of things I will be back in eight weeks. We will see to that or maybe even earlier.”

Sadiq in Spain

Last season for Almería, Sadiq made 36 Segunda División appearances, scored 18 goals, and provided nine assists.

Sadiq joined Real Sociedad in September 2022 from Almería, for whom he made 79 league appearances in total, scoring 40 goals and providing 13 assists.

Sadiq started his La Liga career for Almería on August 14, 2022, playing 71 minutes as a starter against Real Madrid aged 25 years and 193 days.

He made a great start to life in La Liga for Real Sociedad as he scored on his debut against Atlético Madrid on September 3, 2022.

So far in his La Liga career, he has played five games in the competition, with three goals.