Robbie Brady eager to put injuries and time as 'bit-part player' behind him

New boss Stephen Kenny tells Ireland and Burnley star he can be as good again as he was before injury

Republic of Ireland players led by John Egan, Shane Duffy, and Enda Stevens after a training session at Abbotstown yesterday. Picture Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

The surgeon said it would be two years before Robbie Brady could be the player he had been before that collision with Harry Maguire. Three years on and, while the patellar tendon is fully healed, he still isn't back to where he wants to be.

Brady was 25 when it happened at the start of December, 2017. A player settling comfortably, if belatedly, into life as a regular with Burnley after his heroics for Ireland at Euro 2016. He is in his prime now or at least he should be.