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Indian center-back Sandesh Jhingan made his return to the football pitch as a substitute against NorthEast United FC on February 12 after an 11-month-long hiatus.
In August of last year, Jhingan moved to Croatian club HNK Šibenik despite a five-year deal with ATK Mohun Bagan. However, Jhingan was still recovering from a calf injury at the time and couldn't make any appearances for the European club.
During the winter transfer window, the 28-year-old returned to ATKMB. But the injury prevented him from taking the field until the recent game against the Highlanders.
Since his debut, Jhingan has been one of the brightest prospects in the Indian Super League and even snapped up the Emerging Player of the Season award in the inaugural ISL campaign. Since then, he has continued to improve and is widely considered India's greatest central defender.
However, Jhingan's meteoric rise was halted by an ACL injury in 2018. His recent calf injury further added to his setback.
In a recent video shared by ATK Mohun Bagan on Twitter, Jhingan talked about his time away from the game.
“I missed football, it was 11 months since I played a league game, so it was a long wait," admitted Jhingan. "There were many ups and downs during that period. But I kept going, thanks to my family, and finally back on the pitch so really happy."
Check out the ISL clean sheets here.
"When you are a club like ATK Mohun Bagan, each match has to be three points" - Defender Sandesh Jhingan
Meanwhile, with the 3-1 victory against NorthEast United FC, ATK Mohun Bagan have extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches. The Mariners are now just three points behind league leaders Hyderabad FC.
Along with the comfortable position in the league standings, the return of Jhingan from injury will also boost ATKMB.
Jhingan also went on to talk about how every match is crucial to the club's goal of winning the Cup and the Shield.
“When you are a club like ATK Mohun Bagan, each match has to be three points, anything less than that is not good enough," the Indian star center-back said. "The targets we have for the season are to win the Shield and the Cup and the momentum (referencing the unbeaten streak) helps, as it becomes a habit. We will keep pushing and do our job."
The Mariners have six games left in the ISL league stage. They'll be hoping that the return of their star defender can propel them to the top of the league standings in their upcoming matches.
