Everton full-back Seamus Coleman is adamant that he will still be the same player when he returns from a double leg break.
Coleman suffered the horror injury as a result of a tackle by Neil Taylor as he captained Republic of Ireland in a World Cup qualifier against Wales in March.
The 28-year-old is adamant that there will be no long-lasting psychological damage from his injury, though, and says his only frustration is the amount of time he will miss on the pitch.
"I think patience will be the hard bit," Coleman told The Everton Show.
"I've no fear I won't be coming back the same player, there's none of that nonsense. I know I'll be back, I won't be afraid of my first tackle or anything like that - that's not a problem for me, psychologically.
"I think the time will be the [difficult] one for me, because you're used to playing every week and training every day. But it's part and parcel of it and you just have to get on with it.
"It will be tough at times but I'm looking forward to the challenge. It hasn't been smooth for me to get where I am now and this is another little challenge. I'll have good and bad days but I've still got the best job in the world."
| "I’ve no fear I won’t be coming back the same player, there’s none of that nonsense" Seamus on his comeback: . April 29, 2017
Coleman returned to training for the first time this week and opened up about suffering the injury, with the 28-year-old positive about his comeback.
"I knew instantly. I had never broken a bone in my life but my initial thought was to just hold it and make sure nobody would try to take a quick free-kick or anything like that," Coleman added.
"It was a case of trying to stay calm and look after it until the doctor came on. When he came on, I told him it's broken and I'm sure he probably knew as well. Once I knew they had it under control, I think the pain started to hit me then.
"I've watched it all back. There are some players that wouldn't want to but I think it's best to just get it out of the way. I've seen the footage and the pictures, I've got over all of that. Obviously, it wasn't nice - but it happened.
"There will be a lot of treatment as well to help the swelling, but the pain has gone and that's a massive bonus. I'm quite upbeat at the minute."
