What better way to mark your return from long-term injury than a training session alongside such superstars as Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne?
Irish youth international Tyreke Wilson was treated to that significant milestone via a session with the Manchester City first team this week after being invited by Pep Guardiola to test his mettle with some of the best players in the Premier League.
Wilson, a former Cherry Orchard full back, has been out of action for City's U18 side for several months but manager, former Ireland international Lee Carsley, has reinstated the 17-year-old to his squad now that Wilson is approaching full fitness again.
“Having a hard few months out with my injury was mentally tough but getting back now is just the best feeling," Wilson told City's
official website. "I’m flying and I can’t wait to be back out on the pitch. I’ll need to build up to playing 90 minutes again but I’m looking forward to that so much.
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“I’ve done a lot of running on my own, which was the toughest part to keep motivated through, but I had to look at the bigger picture. Now that I’m back working with squad every week I can see how much it helped me.”
Republic of Ireland U19 Head Coach Tom Mohan named Wilson in his Republic of Ireland U19 squad for next week's invitational tournament in La Manga.
Wilson has put in the hours and he returned to the City fold last week, coming off the bench for the U18s during their victory over Newcastle and the Dubliner is hopeful that he can kick on now that the road to recovery is behind him.
“I’ve done some individual stuff with the analysts and added quite a lot of tactical knowledge to my game. It’s helped me to grow off the pitch but now I’m ready to show that through my game and playing in my position,” he said.
"I felt really comfortable when I came on last week. I had a lot of the ball and didn’t have much to defensively but I felt good with the ball at my feet and that’s the first step."
