Ben: “I’m in a great place now”

Ben Davies is back and ready to play his part as the season takes off in the next three weeks.

The full-back has worked his way back to fitness after undergoing groin surgery in June. He was back in action off the bench against Newcastle, on the bench last time out at Arsenal and played 90 minutes for Wales against Belarus on Monday, his 48th cap.

At the club for five years, Ben, 26, featured 40 times last season and is up to 169 appearances for us in all competitions.

Having covered the hard yards in rehabilitation, Ben now joins a squad preparing for seven matches in three competitions in 21 days from Palace at home on Saturday to Brighton away on 5 October. In between, we also kick-off our campaigns in the Champions League and League Cup.

“I’ve had six weeks of grind, six weeks of working hard and I feel like I’m in a great place now and hopefully that will reflect in my performances,” he told us after training on Friday. “I’m buzzing that I managed to get 90 minutes for Wales as well.

“There are times when it has been tough. I didn’t get a pre-season with the boys, I was just at the training ground in the gym running every day getting fit. That’s really tough.

“I battled through a lot last season because I didn’t want to miss much football. I pushed through and ended up playing 40 games. I was needed, and you get through it.

“You have to be patient coming back from these injuries, you realise you need a couple of weeks of training in your legs before you can start to think about playing. Now I just want to work my way back into the team.”