Phil SumblerWhenever a game goes completely against how you wanted to go you have to look for the positives when they are out there. Yesterday may have been one of those where searching was difficult but the return of Liam Cullen is certainly one that gives the spirits a lift when you need them.
Not only did Cullen score the goal that earned us a point that we barely deserved but he returned to action earlier than initially predicted when it was expected that he would not play again this season after being injured against Nottingham Forest.
That was back in the heady days of January and on an afternoon when Cullen had scored two of the Swans five goals in an FA Cup match, a fixture in the middle of what was a great run of form for the Swans.
Since that period ended little seems to have gone right for a Swans side that has maintained a challenge at the top of the table but never hit the heights that we were at when Cullen first suffered his injury.
Maybe there was more than a degree of irony that Cullen returned on an afternoon when Ayew went off injured but it is the positives of his return that we have to take comfort in and hope that he can play a bigger part in the coming weeks as we look to get a return to the Premier League.
“The injury was a big disappointment because I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was,” said Cullen when speaking to the club’s official website.
“In the end I needed surgery, but I kept positive and worked as hard as possible in training.
“Initially we thought it was season over for me. The surgery went really well – the surgeon did an unbelievable job.
“The credit must go to our medical team though, because they’ve helped me all along the way and got me to the stage I’m at.
“I didn’t want to push it, but I couldn’t believe how well it went.
“It’s important not to over-do it. It was my first game back and I can’t go from being injured to 100mph.
“I have full confidence in the gaffer and the medical team as they’ll know what’s best.”
