‘I always knew I’d would play for Ireland...this is where I was born’

Even though he is eligible to play for the Irish U19s, U21s, and seniors, it looks very much like we won’t be seeing Michael Obafemi back in a green shirt until the start of next season.

Having suffered a severe recurrence of a hamstring problem in February, it would be only natural if Southampton wanted their 18-year-old striker to give himself until pre-season to make a complete recovery from the injury which has stopped his accelerated progress for club and country in its tracks.

“I’m six weeks in, so I’ve got five to six weeks left, not too long, I’m halfway in,” he says of the recovery progress.

It’s gone well so far. I’m just looking forward to getting back playing. I think I’ll be fit for (international duty), yeah, but whether the club will let me risk getting injured again, that may be the question. We’ll have to wait and see.

Obafemi scored his first Premier League goal for the Saints against Huddersfield just before Christmas but the very next day injured his hamstring in training and was sidelined until February, only to then be cruelly forced out of the action in his comeback game against Arsenal with a recurrence of the same problem. Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl called it a “disaster” for player and club, and Obafemi doesn’t disagree.

“Yeah, I’d say so as well. I’d just come back from eight weeks out or so. I missed a lot of games, the January games, the cup games and stuff which I probably would have played in. I think it was a disaster because I’m missing the remainder of the season now.”

And contributing to his team usually means making the most of his blistering pace, something Obafemi is confident will survive the injury setbacks. “There’s been a lot of players who’ve struggled with hamstring injuries, Michael Owen, for example,” he notes. “He had to change his game but, hopefully, I don’t have to change mine because it’s a big part of my game, getting in behind defenders.”

"It was never a decision to play for England or Nigeria."@michaelobafemi_ on becoming a full 🇮🇪 international last November.#VMSport@cocacolaie pic.twitter.com/8gsTefth2i

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) April 3, 2019

Getting to grips with the problem led medics to address an old issue with the player’s back. “I never really had hamstring injuries before I stepped into first team football,” he says “It was more my back because when I signed for Southampton, I signed with a past fracture so I was out for seven months. When I got back from that injury, I had a couple of niggles but nothing hamstring-related but my first one came against United early on last year and it’s just gone from there.

“Because of, like, my posture, my back is more curved, I think that’s the main reason. I’ve been having a lot of tests in London, 3D scans on my back, to see how my posture is and how we can rectify it so that it gives me less chance of injury in the future.”

Will that mean even changing the way he watches the telly? “Pretty much, yeah,” he laughs. “I’ve got to basically sit up straight. Little things will help me in the long term.”

Although he was eligible to play for England, Nigeria, and Ireland, Obafemi copperfastened his international future when Martin O’Neill summoned him from the bench to play in the Nations League game in Denmark last November, an experience the teenager describes as “surreal”. And, unlike Declan Rice, he insists there was never any question of keeping his international options open.

“No, I didn’t really pay attention to all of that,” he says. “I always knew I’d play for Ireland. I didn’t really pay attention to Declan’s situation. Ireland was the only one. I played from U17s up so I didn’t see the need to change. This is where I was born and where I should stay. I was born in Dublin — my mum was visiting her sisters — and I think I moved back to London a couple of weeks later, where I grew up. I didn’t stay long but when I come here, I still feel like I am home.”

His mother, Bola, who attends every game he plays, has been a key influence in his life and, along with other family members — including older brother Affy who plays for Barking — fully backed his decision to declare for Ireland. Now, watching an Irish team under new management claim back-to-back Euro qualifying wins has reinforced Obamfemi’s determination to restart his international career.

“I want to play at the Aviva in front of the home crowd,” he says. “But obviously when I get back fit — that’s my first goal.”