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Cape Town - Everton midfielder Andre Gomes says he refused to count the number of days he was out injured during his recuperation after making his return to action.
The Portuguese midfielder was involved in a freak incident during Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham in November which resulted in a fracture-dislocation of his ankle.
A challenge from Spurs attacker Son Heung-min saw Gomes fall awkwardly and suffer the horrible injury, which overshadowed the entire game.
Initially, it looked like the 26-year-old would be out of action for a long period, but he has made a faster-than-expected recovery to first-team action.
Gomes came off the bench during Everton's 3-2 loss at Arsenal on Sunday for his first taste of football under Carlo Ancelotti.
It was just Gomes' 10th appearance for the club this season in what has been an injury-disrupted year for the deep-lying playmaker.
However, he will now hope to force his way into Ancelotti’s side who are part of the battle to finish in Europe at the end of the season.
Following 112 days out of action, Gomes has revealed he pushed himself as hard as he could in order to get back playing for Everton.
"I did not count the days [I was out] or I’d have been down," Gomes told the club’s official website. "But I was missing this and pushed myself to the limit to be back as soon as possible.
"We did not set a time to be back, so I just tried to push to my limit. I want to help the team to try to reach its goals and we are looking forwards."
Gomes initially joined Everton on loan at the beginning of the 2018-19 season and was a very impressive performer as the Merseyside club finished eighth in the Premier League.
That prompted the club to sign him on a permanent deal from Barcelona with the Portugal international joining for a fee in the region of £22 million last summer.
Everton’s next encounter is a home game against Manchester United on Saturday with Gomes hoping to play his part once more.
