Ghanaian defender Abdul Baba Rahman has admitted that niggling injuries have had a toll on his playing style.
Baba Rahman, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Reading, on loan from Chelsea, and the Ghana national team.
The left-back was on a promising career path when he joined Chelsea in 2015 and was later loaned to Bundesliga side Schalke O4 for the 2016-17 season.
Beginning his career at Dreams FC, he played in the Ghanaian Premier League with Asante Kotoko. In 2012, he signed for Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth, where he spent two seasons. He then played for FC Augsburg before joining Chelsea in 2015 for a fee of £14 million, potentially rising to £22 million.
Rahman made his international debut in 2014 and was part of their squad which were runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
That injury saved him uninvolved for nearly 24 months, with the 28-year-old managing not many appearances at club level.
At present on loan at Championship side Reading from Chelsea, Rahman has regained full fitness and was part of the Black Stars squad that played at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Opening up on his injuries, the protector said they have constrained him to alter his game, insisting they have also made him tougher as a footballer.
“I will say injuries have changed me a lot. Injuries in my knees have changed my style of play,” Rahman said.
“Like my running pattern. I also had to adapt to how it changed my body. It has also made me tough, much more than I was before. Because having these kinds of injuries and having to battle it and getting back to playing, it shows mentally prepared I was.”
He added: “These injuries that I have had recently are better than the ones that will keep me like a year-and-half without playing.
“My first injury took me one-and-half years to get back to playing and the second one took me eight months. These ones are just a setback.”
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Rahman started against Portugal and Uruguay during Ghana’s Reality Cup campaign in Qatar last year.