‘I Feel Like A Tour de France Cyclist’

After such a productive 2016/17 season, one name you may have expected to see in the first team frame over this pre-season is Charles Vernam.

The last 12 months has seen a lot of highs for the forward.

“Making my Derby debut was really special,” he told RamsTV. “I worked for it all season and when it came I felt ready for it. Even more so, I was happy to be trusted in that situation in the game against West Brom and then came my Football League debut (after joining Coventry City on loan).

“That was different. It was a difficult game and wasn’t what I expected. When You get out there, everything disappears and it’s just you playing a game. It’s easy to overthink those situations, but at the end of the day, it is just another game of football. That’s how you have got to think about it. It was a really productive season.”

The 2016/17 season had been the breakthrough year Vernam had dreamt of.

That was the case, however, until the very end. In freak circumstances, after turning quickly whilst running, the 20-year-old’s campaign came to a grinding halt.

After initial optimism that he would be back for pre-season, the prognosis proved to be far more severe, Vernam had suffered a Chondral Defect in his knee – in terms of the Under-23 player, this referred to a chip on the thigh bone – and he was told he would be out between six and nine months.

“It’s the first proper injury that I have had and you never really think of it happening to you,” Vernam said. “When it does you have to get your head around it as quickly as you can and work hard towards the goal of getting back fit.

“When I first heard that news that I was going to be out longer than I expected, that was really difficult. I had a lot of people around me who kept me focused and kept me working hard. The other difficult point was when everyone was coming back for pre-season.

“For me personally, it is a time that I enjoy because you’re just starting to get back out on the pitch again. It’s the best feeling in the world. I am having to wait for that unfortunately.

“I feel a bit like a Tour de France cyclist at the moment! There’s a lot of work on the bike and gym work to get through. I am increasing that workload and I putting more pressure on my legs so, at this point, I am not too far away. I’m getting itchy feet now, but I’ll be back.”

Read more of our interview with Charles Vernam in this weekend’s new-look instalment of The Ram, produced for the visit of UEFA Champions League bound TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.