Written by: Muhammad Yazid

Woodlands Wellington’s Shahril Alias has returned to action after spending eight ‘cruel’ months on the sidelines as he embarked on the road to recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear.

The centre-back relished his first start of the season in the 2-0 loss to Tampines Rovers and on top of that, it was also his first full game.

Deemed as every athlete’s nightmare, the ACL injury was inflicted on Shahril at the end of last season, after a 2-2 draw against Tanjong Pagar United.

Since then, the former Courts Young Lions, Home United, Hougang United and Geylang International player has been present in every Woodlands’ game this season as a mere spectator, before he started sitting on the bench for the past one and a half months.

The Woodlands’ 2013 captain mentioned in an interview with S.League.com that he was experiencing one of his hardest times of his life and is happy to step onto the pitch once again.

“It has been itching for me to play for the club after eight months. I have been waiting for a long time and it feels good to be back,” he said.

“I had a reasonably good game today but I feel little upset that I cannot help the team to get a goal. Honestly, I am happy with the performance.

“I can feel that the players around me are supportive and confident of me. They have been encouraging me to play my game and there is full support.”

In his returning game, the 30-year-old constantly kept Miljan Mrdakovic and Jozef Kaplan at bay with the support of his partners Milos Jevtic and Bah Mamadou.

According to Shahril, much credit should be given to the technical staffs, as he feels that they played a big part in his recovering.

“I am grateful that I am in good hands. The technical staff including the physiotherapist have been making sure that I am on the right and safe track,” the sturdy defender fondly known as ‘Batu’, said.

“It was never easy. ACL injury is the worse to all sportsmen but it is part and parcel of sports.”

The 1.76m tall player then promised to perform at his very best for the rest of the season, as he said, “I would give my best in training sessions and I want to help the club achieve something.”

His gaffer, Salim Moin was delighted with Shahril’s performance in the Tampines game and is looking forward to field him more often.

“He has shown full recovery and I am impressed with his commanding at the back. I have more selection of players now,” the tactician expressed.

The Rams’ next game would be on the 22nd of August where they would be facing Geylang International, and expect Shahril to be a rock at the heart of defence against his former teammates.