Andy King offers verdict on Bristol City teammate after latest setback | OneFootball

Bristol City midfielder Andy King has hailed how young teammate Ayman Benarous has dealt with his recent injury setbacks.

Benarous has been sidelined with an ACL injury since the end of last season in a campaign that saw him make his league debut for the Robins.

After making progress towards a return, the 19-year-old has suffered a set-back, and has had to undergo surgery to address it.

Speaking on the youngster, King, an experienced midfielder himself, hailed his character and how he has dealt with the recent blows he has suffered.

“He loves football, he just wants to be out there with the team, and I was gutted for him as he had worked so hard to get back so for him to have another setback was gutting, but he’s a strong character.” King told Bristol World on the 19-year-old.

“I had a couple of setbacks last year and it’s hard at 33 to deal with that, so for him at his age to be dealing with it [so well] is brilliant.

“I thought he dealt with his rehab, the first one, well. I used to say to him he never seems to have a down day, he never seems to be feeling sorry for himself.”

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Offering an insight into why he has been able to deal with those set-back’s so well, King revealed Benarous has been speaking to his more experienced teammates to help him along.

“I know he speaks to Matty James quite a lot and Jamo really helps him because obviously he’s had a couple of knee injuries as well so he knows where he’s coming from,” King added.

“He can speak to him about his rehab or what he’s doing and Jamo can relate to him really well in terms of how his knee’s feeling, not to get too down if it’s a little bit sore.

“He knows he’s got the older lads to help him, the lads rally around him but for sure for I’m and his career it is just a setback and I think he’s another one who can go on to have a really good future.”

The Verdict

These are some really nice words from Andy King on the young Ayman Benarous.

King clearly believes he has a good future in the game going on the record with such a glowing verdict.

Mentality is often something that comes with experience, so the fact Benarous has such a strong character despite such a tender age surely bodes well for his career ahead.

Indeed, having already made 12 senior appearances for the Robins, Benarous will soon hope to add to that tally when he returns to fitness.