Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has admitted that it has been a "frustrating" season so far after the centre-back missed the majority of pre-season with an Achilles injury.
Cooper was ruled out of Leeds' FA Cup third round tie with Cardiff through injury, as he watched his team come from two goals down to force a replay against the Bluebirds. Jesse Marsch's side needed a 93rd minute equaliser from Sonny Perkins to take the game to Elland Road on January 18.
The 31-year-old was sorely missed by his side, but thankfully the defender is back in training and preparing for Leeds' next game against Aston Villa in the Premier League on Friday night.
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"I was out with the physios on Sunday," Cooper told BBC West Yorkshire Sport Daily. "I was back in full training and [had] no issues. I feel good, I feel strong - it was just a small tear in my glute, I'll be back for the next game [against Aston Villa]."
The defender missed most of the club's pre-season with an Achilles injury and opened up on his struggle to get back up to speed with the rest of the squad.
He said: "It's been very frustrating. I think if you ask any of the boys, missing pre-season is tough. Obviously to get back up to speed, particularly because of the work-load in pre-season and how high it is. When you're joining in and trying to play games, it's very difficult and that's why I trained in in the break when the World Cup was on.
"I took it upon myself because I didn't feel where I wanted to be, so I took that upon myself to to go and train. I trained every day while I was on holiday and and I came back in a much better place than I was before the break."
Picking up an injury can also take a mental toll and this is something that Cooper is all too aware of, as he looked to not let his latest setback have too much of an impact on his mental wellbeing.
"I have a lot more experience now about these things and I try not to focus on it too much, because it drains a lot of your energy and a lot of your mental capacity so I try not to get too hung up on it now.
"When you know you're not not quite where you want to be, because you have a vision in your own head of where you want to be, obviously if you're not there it can be a bit disheartening. But you crack on and you work hard and the break came at a good time for me to do some extra work and get myself in a good place."
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