Gambia's Pa Sulay Njie: "It's a very hard time to go through"
Pa Sulay Njie looks back on the difficult moments of his career. The Gambian centre-forward has suffered repeated injuries.
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Eight minutes. That is not the average stoppage time at the last World Cup in Qatar. It is how much game time Pa Sulay Njie got in the 2021-2022 season with Hereford FC, an English non-league club. The Gambian striker seemed to have everything needed to make it, having come through the Coventry City academy, where he learned his trade alongside England internationals James Maddison and Callum Wilson. But recurring injuries kept getting in the way of the player, who also passed through Stoke City. Those setbacks also took a heavy toll on his morale.
"When you're injured, you're not a happy person. You have mood swings, you're frustrated, and that's what I went through. I was depressed and it takes a lot of mental strength to get over it", Pa Sulay Njie admits to BBC Africa Sport. The injuries have also given his career an unusual path. After Coventry, Kettering, Boston and Shrewsbury, he then signed... in Gambia, with Real de Banjul, before joining Hatayspor in Turkey.
A dream: to get back on track
The Gambia international striker has suffered several heavy blows in his career. So much so that depression began to creep in. "It's a very hard time to go through because, growing up, all you want to do is play and enjoy football. When you're injured, you can't really play, even if you want to be out there. It's almost like being in a prison, because you want to get out but you can't get out ", Pa Sulay Njie adds.
Without a club since 1 July 2022, the 30-year-old centre-forward is hoping for an opportunity to bounce back. Pa Sulay Njie is training with Oxford United. Even so, he is more pessimistic than anything. "When the transfer window comes round, it's always difficult, because your hope and your dream is to play for a team you want. Opportunities are limited. Not every club is looking for free agents. They all have their own targets, and it's always a hard time for players during that period, so it's very hard mentally".