Dickson Etuhu: Losing Zamora is a blow that we can now overcome

Dickson Etuhu was one of the first to go and see Bobby Zamora in hospital after he broke his ankle against Wolves
Steve Cording11 April 2012

Dickson Etuhu has not been able to bring himself to watch the highlights of the win over Wolves last Saturday. Fulham maintained their impressive unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage — but it came at a price.

Etuhu's close friend and team-mate Bobby Zamora was carried off in agony following a crunching challenge by Wolves captain Karl Henry.

The striker was immediately ruled out of action until Christmas and yesterday came the news Fulham manager Mark Hughes dreaded. Not only has Zamora broken his ankle, he has ligament damage as well and won't play again until February at the earliest.

Etuhu, 28, was one of the first to visit Zamora in hospital as the England man came to terms with the injury that has wrecked his season.

"Everyone at Fulham has been left shattered by what happened to Bobby," Etuhu told Standard Sport.

"He is more than just a good player, he is also one of the biggest personalities in our dressing room.

"He is such a comedian and a joker and you can always hear him from the car park as soon as he arrives at the training ground. Without him around the next five months are going to be so boring, he just makes everyone so happy.

"I went to see Bobby in hospital straight after the game with Wolves and understandably he was very down. I saw the pain he was in on the pitch and knew straight away it was bad; none of the players wanted to look at his ankle."

Zamora had just enjoyed his best season as a player as he helped Fulham reach the Europa League Final. He was capped by England against Hungary last month and signed a new four-year contract a week ago — three days after Etuhu had done the same.

"Bobby will be back, of that there is no doubt in my mind," the midfielder added. "We have all made sure that he has been looking on the bright side and trying to take the positives out of what is a very difficult situation for him and have promised not to let our standards slip while he is sidelined.

"He has never had a serious injury in his career so he has to hope that this is his one and only.

"Ironically, we both put pen to paper on four-year deals to stay at Fulham last week and we were actually joking that we had to be careful walking down any stairs in case we fell and got injured. Bobby even suggested we sleep at the club's training ground to make sure that nothing happened to us before we signed.

"People don't realise what a precarious profession being a footballer is. Just look at what has happened to Nuno Valencia at Manchester United this week who is now out for most of the season. You can be at the high point of your career and feeling that life is fantastic and that nothing can go wrong and then in a split second you are in the totally opposite position.

"Bobby had a huge smile on his face when he walked into Craven Cottage on Saturday morning, he had signed a new deal, was an England international and look at him now, sat on his bed with a broken ankle.

"But he knows there is no pressure on him to get back to playing again and that is a huge weight off his shoulders. I told him he should use the time to make sure he comes back fitter and stronger than ever."

The loss of such a crucial player at this early stage of the season would have hurt Fulham in the past yet

Hughes's team are now a different proposition.
Etuhu, born in Nigeria but raised in Peckham from an early age, played at this summer's World Cup, as did Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and American striker Clint Dempsey, who can now expect to be the focal point of the attack in Zamora's absence.

"Bobby has been the main man for us but the great thing about Fulham at the moment is that we have the players to come in and fill the gap while he is out," Etuhu said.

"Clint Dempsey played so well last season and I am really excited about our new signing, Moussa Dembele, who came in a did so well with two goals against Wolves. Andy Johnson is also very close to regaining his match fitness as well, so it shows what a healthy squad we have built up."

The 28-year-old believes that Hughes is also the perfect man to help Fulham re-focus on football, starting with tomorrow's clash with the team he used to manage, Blackburn.

Etuhu, who has had spells at Manchester City, Preston, Norwich and Sunderland before arriving at Craven Cottage for £1.5million in 2008, believes Hughes's appointment this summer as Roy Hodgson's replacement will ensure last season's success is not a one-off.

"The whole club have been so upbeat since he took over from Roy and excited about what we can now achieve," he said.

"My brother, Kelvin, was at Manchester City with Hughes and told me a lot of good things about him before he arrived at Fulham. I was still quite shocked at what a good manager he is, the football he believes in and the way he carries and presents himself.

"We all wear suits now to every game, home and away, which might only seem like a small thing but it helps in our mental preparation.

"He is a very different boss to Roy, who was more interested in looking at the shape of the team and wanted us to sit back and defend and stay in our positions and then break forward.

"Mark Hughes is more dynamic and explosive and wants pace and power and to take the game to our opponents. We are more excited about this because we know we are going to get more goals this year and we are going to be more unpredictable."

Etuhu was still sad to see Hodgson, a manager he credits with rebuilding him as a player, leave for Liverpool in the summer but the freedom he now enjoys under Hughes has helped to soften the blow.

He only scored two goals last season but has already netted in this campaign with the late equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Blackpool.

He said: "I have a lot to thank Roy Hodgson because he helped me a lot and almost coached me from the beginning again — and I understand football better now because of him.

"Everyone knew under Roy Hodgson that we were going to play a solid 4-4-2, the strikers would come back and work hard, but now we are going to be pro-active.

"The new manager has encouraged me to get into the box as much as possible because he believes I can score a few goals this year."

Hughes was also a success at Blackburn and Etuhu fully expects him to receive a warm reception tomorrow.

"I know that he is still held in very high regard at Ewood Park because he did such a good job," he said.

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