Mansfield Town's George Maris delivers personal fitness update and says he has been 'focusing on himself more than ever'
George Maris says his body is feeling good since returning from injury, after spending pre-season working hard on his himself and his fitness.
The midfielder has started Mansfield Town’s last two League One fixtures, which he said has been ‘weird’ to adjust to after being on the side-lines for so long.
Maris has had a real tough run with injuries in recent years and he knows all too well the toll it can take mentally while trying to work back up to physical fitness.
The 30-year-old was selected to start against Bradford City and Huddersfield Town and he hopes he can keep appearances up, having been out of first team action for so long.
Maris spoke to the media during Mansfield Town’s midweek press conference and he stressed that he wants to show to fans he is always ‘trying his best to be fit’, as he knows there are feelings of frustration that come when a player is out for a long time.
“It’s been a while, coming up to a year since I last did that,” he said, reflecting on his back-to-back starts. “I had my knee injury and then a couple of soft tissue injuries after that so I’m just happy to be back playing.
“I’ll be honest, it felt weird getting back into it because it had been such a long time. But my body feels good at the minute, so long may it continue.”
Delving deeper into the impact his recent injuries have had on him, Maris said: “I came back from my knee injury and I felt good in training but then pulled my calf. That was the worst one for me, because I got myself in good shape and then I did my calf just before the end of the season to rule me out.
“It was tough mentally but this pre-season I think I’ve focused on myself more than I ever have in my career. To get myself right and get through pre-season, which I did. Touch wood, I haven’t felt anything so far and my body feels good at the minute.”
The midfielder played the full 90 minutes against Bradford and just over an hour against Huddersfield. Stags are light on options in the middle of the park at the moment, with Jon Russell out injured and new loan signing George Abbott still not match fit. Maris said his two consecutive starts have been a ‘weight off his shoulders’ as he gets stuck back into first team action.
“I still know I’ve got more in the locker than what I’ve shown but getting back on the ball and feeling that sort of feeling has been great for me. I got a lot of touches against Huddersfield in the first half and you need that. Because I’ve been out for so long, I just needed that and now hopefully, I can kick on and help us win some games.”