Meyler: every minute counts

IRISH starlet David Meyler has revealed his joy at his recovery from a potentially career-threatening injury and insisted ‘‘every minute counts’’ as he continues the road back to full fitness.

Meyler made his second start of the season in Sunderland’s surprise 2-0 home defeat to Blackpool on Tuesday following his return to full fitness. The Wexford-born youngster had been out after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage in the Black Cats’ final league game of last season.

It was originally feared Meyler would be out of action for as long as 12 months but the 21-year-old has stunned medical staff at the Stadium of Light with the speed of his recovery.

Meyler is now determined to get up to full match fitness and return to the form which saw him rise to prominence last season.

‘‘Every minute counts for me, and I’m just glad to be back,’’ Meyler said. ‘‘I hadn’t played in seven and a half months and every little bit helps.’’

Meyler is grateful for the support he received during his lay-off, particularly from Sunderland physio Dave Binningsley.

‘‘The amount of people I could thank is unbelievable, especially Dave Binningsley, who day by day pushed me on even more. During the long summer days when everyone was on holiday, I was in every day with 9am starts. Dave was there with me to help me through it.

‘‘You just want to get back as quickly as you can without rushing it. I’m only a player, and the doctors and medical staff know what’s best for me. I just want to get as many minutes as I can now.’’

Meyler lasted almost an hour against Blackpool before being withdrawn by Bruce, who may be forced to include the Ireland U21 international again in the side to face Blackburn on Saturday.

Bruce wants to ease Meyler gradually into action but his hand could be forced by injuries to Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck.

For his part, Meyler is eager to put right Sunderland’s first home Premier League defeat of the season after the Black Cats spurned a hatful of chances against Blackpool.

They face a Blackburn side boosted by a first victory in four.

‘‘Every game you play in the Premier League you want to win,’’ Meyler said.

‘‘With the chances we created against Blackpool, to come away with nothing wasn’t great. It wasn’t our day and the ball just wouldn’t hit the back of the net.

‘‘Blackburn will be coming here thinking they can win after beating West Brom. It’s a busy period and obviously we played Manchester United just a couple of days before and we’ve got Blackburn on Saturday.

‘‘We’ve got to push on. Saturday’s a new day and we’ve got to keep pushing forward.

‘‘But our home record is unreal so hopefully we can get a win and push ourselves back up the table.’’