Two goals timely tonic as Jansen continues recovery from accident

BLACKBURN striker Matt Jansen revealed he questioned whether he would ever be able to play top-flight football again after a serious road accident in Italy last summer.

Jansen and his girlfriend were on a moped while holidaying in Rome when they were in collision with a taxi and the player suffered serious head injuries.

There were fears over whether Jansen would pull through and he admits he had problems with his co-ordination and balance when he first came out of hospital and returned to England.

But Rovers kept faith with Jansen, who was called into the England squad last season, while he slowly but surely recovered after waiting until October before he could head a ball again.

And, although insisting he is still not yet “the finished article”, Jansen showed flashes of his old skills as he and Dwight Yorke both scored twice to help Blackburn win at Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.

Jansen, who can remember nothing about his accident, said: “In my darkest moments I must admit I had a big question-mark over myself. It was like a rollercoaster ride for me and at times I thought I’d never get back to the standards I had played at before.”

Jansen does not expect to start tomorrow’s Worthington Cup clash with Manchester United when the rested Andy Cole will return to partner Yorke. But he admitted: “I’ll take confidence into the next game from what happened on Saturday and hopefully I can play some part against United.”