Somma the optimist clings to fresh hope
YEP 10/10/13
Despite a series of injury setbacks, Davide Somma still hopes he has a future at Leeds United. Phil Hay reports.
It’s the hope that kills you or so they say. Davide Somma has had more than two years of it. But once again it springs eternal for him as rehabilitation turns to running and running turns to full training. “I’m almost there,” he says. “I’ve got everything crossed.”
Somma is swimming in familiar waters. He has been this close to a full-blown comeback before and is working on his fitness at Leeds United’s training ground, despite the fact that his contract with the club ended in June. The striker is not sure where his effort will lead but he has always been an optimist. This is the player who once bought a one-way ticket from the United States to England in search of a professional deal.
He struck lucky with that gamble but has never quite got over the misfortune of the knee injury which undid so much progress. Somma ruptured a cruciate knee ligament in 2011 and required a second operation on the same joint the following year. In April he had another minor procedure to clean out the knee and he is still in the final throes of his rehab. In a month’s time Somma expects to be fit enough to train.
“I’ve been doing plenty of side-to-side stuff, testing the strength of my knee, and I should be out running this week,” he says. “Within a month I’m hoping to be back to the level of fitness I need to do proper training so I’m quite close.
“You’re always a bit wary of what’s around the corner but I try to stay positive about what I’m doing and where I’m going. I feel really good and I feel like I’m almost ready for football again. It’s what you live for.”
Somma went home to America on crutches at the end of last season, knowing that Leeds were not intending to renew his contract. Somma signed a three-year deal at the height of his form in 2010 but he missed all of the 2011-12 season and made only fleeting appearances for the club last term. His operation in April ended any chance of United offering fresh terms there and then.
The consolation for Somma, who joined Leeds in 2009, initially as a trialist, was that Leeds invited him to continue using their facilities and physiotherapy resources at Thorp Arch. Having assumed at first that Somma would pursue other opportunities, the club’s manager, Brian McDermott, phoned him to remind him that the offer to return to Yorkshire was still open.
“I went back home when last season finished and it wasn’t the best of times,” Somma says. “I got to see the family and that was great but I was limping about on crutches. As far as my career went I had no idea where to go or what to do in America.
“In the end I was lucky to have Brian McDermott call me and tell me that the club would look after me if I wanted them to. When I got back to Thorp Arch, Harvey Sharman (United’s head physiotherapist) had arranged a full programme for me to work on. It’s been an absolute blessing for me, something I’m very grateful for.
“They didn’t need to do me a favour. I was out of contract and they didn’t owe me anything. But I’ve been able to work hard in an environment I know and the work’s really paying off. I’m not sure where I’d be right now if I hadn’t had the club’s help.”
Somma, who turned 28 this year, made a pretence at a comeback with Leeds in December and scored the last goal in a 4-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day but his appearance against Hull City on December 29 showed vividly the gaps in his fitness and sharpness.
The decision to start him was a spontaneous selection by McDermott’s predecessor, Neil Warnock, and looked in hindsight like an opportunity given too soon. Leeds were badly outplayed and Somma featured only three more times before undergoing a fresh bout of surgery after a 1-0 defeat to Burnley, McDermott’s second match in charge.
“I should have had that operation a long time ago,” he says. “It wasn’t a major job, more a clean-out of the knee than anything serious, but the doctors needed to tidy up a bit of cartilage. It feels so much better.
“You try to shut out negative thoughts when you’re coming back from injury but I was always aware of a little niggle. It wasn’t a big deal but it wasn’t right either. The operation had to be done and I’m pleased I bit the bullet – otherwise I’d be in the same position now.”
United’s first-team squad were given a short period of time off this week with the international break upon them but Somma has continued to attend Thorp Arch in their absence. “The place is quite empty but there’ve been people there specifically to help me do my work,” Somma says. “Harvey has sorted everything out. They’ve really gone the extra mile.”
The ideal scenario in Somma’s mind is that his time at the training ground opens a path into McDermott’s squad. Somma has no guarantee of that but he is likely to do some first-team training, and Leeds are a club yearning for goals.
Goals were always his strength. Somma’s most productive year at Leeds – the 2010-11 season – showed him to be an exceptional finisher with an all-round game which still required work. A prior loan at Lincoln City had also seen him score for fun.
His debut for United was marked by two goals in a 3-1 win over Millwall and he reached seven in the space of two months. A second-half winner at home to Coventry City and a volleyed equaliser with his first touch against Norwich City kept Leeds in the running for the play-offs as the 2010-11 campaign neared a conclusion.
“Those goals are the things that keep you going,” he says. “I’ve had the worst of times these last two years but when you think back to the good days, the good moments, and it gives you that drive again. You watch a few videos on YouTube and you see the reason why you have to keep going.
“I read about the club a lot and I read about the crowds they take everywhere. It’s the life I’ve known for quite a few years and it’s hard for me to reflect on how it’s gone for me. I just try to stay positive, always positive.
“Whatever happens I want to stay in England because to me English football is as good as football gets. But I’d love to have another chance at Leeds, really I would. I don’t want to accept that it’s over. But I do accept that a decision on that is out of my hands.”
DAVIDE’S UNITED STRIKES TO REMEMBER
v Millwall, Aug 21, 2010: Two goals taken on his United debut sealed a 3-1 victory against the Lions. One is a sharp finish from a cut-back and the other on the counter-attack as Somma’s name is in lights at Elland Road.
v Middlesbrough, Oct 16, 2010: Somma’s well-taken volley on 12 minutes was the catalyst for a 2-1 victory at The Riverside – even if Luciano Becchio outdid his strike partner with a more spectacular finish in the second half.
v Portsmouth, Jan 22, 2011: The South African international enhanced his reputation as a super-sub by coming off the bench and converting a tap-in 60 seconds later to earn a 2-2 draw.
v Coventry, Feb 5, 2011: Won a tight but important meeting with Coventry City with the only goal for the Whites early in the second half.
v Norwich, Feb 19, 2011: The pick of the bunch. The striker buried a 20-yard volley with his first touch to avert defeat against a major promotion rival.
Despite a series of injury setbacks, Davide Somma still hopes he has a future at Leeds United. Phil Hay reports.
It’s the hope that kills you or so they say. Davide Somma has had more than two years of it. But once again it springs eternal for him as rehabilitation turns to running and running turns to full training. “I’m almost there,” he says. “I’ve got everything crossed.”
Somma is swimming in familiar waters. He has been this close to a full-blown comeback before and is working on his fitness at Leeds United’s training ground, despite the fact that his contract with the club ended in June. The striker is not sure where his effort will lead but he has always been an optimist. This is the player who once bought a one-way ticket from the United States to England in search of a professional deal.
He struck lucky with that gamble but has never quite got over the misfortune of the knee injury which undid so much progress. Somma ruptured a cruciate knee ligament in 2011 and required a second operation on the same joint the following year. In April he had another minor procedure to clean out the knee and he is still in the final throes of his rehab. In a month’s time Somma expects to be fit enough to train.
“I’ve been doing plenty of side-to-side stuff, testing the strength of my knee, and I should be out running this week,” he says. “Within a month I’m hoping to be back to the level of fitness I need to do proper training so I’m quite close.
“You’re always a bit wary of what’s around the corner but I try to stay positive about what I’m doing and where I’m going. I feel really good and I feel like I’m almost ready for football again. It’s what you live for.”
Somma went home to America on crutches at the end of last season, knowing that Leeds were not intending to renew his contract. Somma signed a three-year deal at the height of his form in 2010 but he missed all of the 2011-12 season and made only fleeting appearances for the club last term. His operation in April ended any chance of United offering fresh terms there and then.
The consolation for Somma, who joined Leeds in 2009, initially as a trialist, was that Leeds invited him to continue using their facilities and physiotherapy resources at Thorp Arch. Having assumed at first that Somma would pursue other opportunities, the club’s manager, Brian McDermott, phoned him to remind him that the offer to return to Yorkshire was still open.
“I went back home when last season finished and it wasn’t the best of times,” Somma says. “I got to see the family and that was great but I was limping about on crutches. As far as my career went I had no idea where to go or what to do in America.
“In the end I was lucky to have Brian McDermott call me and tell me that the club would look after me if I wanted them to. When I got back to Thorp Arch, Harvey Sharman (United’s head physiotherapist) had arranged a full programme for me to work on. It’s been an absolute blessing for me, something I’m very grateful for.
“They didn’t need to do me a favour. I was out of contract and they didn’t owe me anything. But I’ve been able to work hard in an environment I know and the work’s really paying off. I’m not sure where I’d be right now if I hadn’t had the club’s help.”
Somma, who turned 28 this year, made a pretence at a comeback with Leeds in December and scored the last goal in a 4-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day but his appearance against Hull City on December 29 showed vividly the gaps in his fitness and sharpness.
The decision to start him was a spontaneous selection by McDermott’s predecessor, Neil Warnock, and looked in hindsight like an opportunity given too soon. Leeds were badly outplayed and Somma featured only three more times before undergoing a fresh bout of surgery after a 1-0 defeat to Burnley, McDermott’s second match in charge.
“I should have had that operation a long time ago,” he says. “It wasn’t a major job, more a clean-out of the knee than anything serious, but the doctors needed to tidy up a bit of cartilage. It feels so much better.
“You try to shut out negative thoughts when you’re coming back from injury but I was always aware of a little niggle. It wasn’t a big deal but it wasn’t right either. The operation had to be done and I’m pleased I bit the bullet – otherwise I’d be in the same position now.”
United’s first-team squad were given a short period of time off this week with the international break upon them but Somma has continued to attend Thorp Arch in their absence. “The place is quite empty but there’ve been people there specifically to help me do my work,” Somma says. “Harvey has sorted everything out. They’ve really gone the extra mile.”
The ideal scenario in Somma’s mind is that his time at the training ground opens a path into McDermott’s squad. Somma has no guarantee of that but he is likely to do some first-team training, and Leeds are a club yearning for goals.
Goals were always his strength. Somma’s most productive year at Leeds – the 2010-11 season – showed him to be an exceptional finisher with an all-round game which still required work. A prior loan at Lincoln City had also seen him score for fun.
His debut for United was marked by two goals in a 3-1 win over Millwall and he reached seven in the space of two months. A second-half winner at home to Coventry City and a volleyed equaliser with his first touch against Norwich City kept Leeds in the running for the play-offs as the 2010-11 campaign neared a conclusion.
“Those goals are the things that keep you going,” he says. “I’ve had the worst of times these last two years but when you think back to the good days, the good moments, and it gives you that drive again. You watch a few videos on YouTube and you see the reason why you have to keep going.
“I read about the club a lot and I read about the crowds they take everywhere. It’s the life I’ve known for quite a few years and it’s hard for me to reflect on how it’s gone for me. I just try to stay positive, always positive.
“Whatever happens I want to stay in England because to me English football is as good as football gets. But I’d love to have another chance at Leeds, really I would. I don’t want to accept that it’s over. But I do accept that a decision on that is out of my hands.”
DAVIDE’S UNITED STRIKES TO REMEMBER
v Millwall, Aug 21, 2010: Two goals taken on his United debut sealed a 3-1 victory against the Lions. One is a sharp finish from a cut-back and the other on the counter-attack as Somma’s name is in lights at Elland Road.
v Middlesbrough, Oct 16, 2010: Somma’s well-taken volley on 12 minutes was the catalyst for a 2-1 victory at The Riverside – even if Luciano Becchio outdid his strike partner with a more spectacular finish in the second half.
v Portsmouth, Jan 22, 2011: The South African international enhanced his reputation as a super-sub by coming off the bench and converting a tap-in 60 seconds later to earn a 2-2 draw.
v Coventry, Feb 5, 2011: Won a tight but important meeting with Coventry City with the only goal for the Whites early in the second half.
v Norwich, Feb 19, 2011: The pick of the bunch. The striker buried a 20-yard volley with his first touch to avert defeat against a major promotion rival.
