Bellerin reveals Arsenal team-mate who helped lift the gloom during rehab

Hector Bellerin has paid tribute to Arsenal colleague Rob Holding after the defender played a key role in helping him get through nine months on the sidelines.

Bellerin was stretchered off after 72 minutes of the home win over Chelsea in January, 2019, a club statement saying he would be sidelined for a minimum of six months after undergoing surgery to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee.

It turned into much longer as the Spaniard didn’t return until late September when the Gunners scored a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.

Bellerin wasn’t the only player to be sidelined by injury in a difficult spell for the Gunners and said the help of his teammates was vital as he battled through the lengthy rehab.

Speaking to arsenal.com, he singled out Rob Holding as the one that acted as the greatest inspiration during the long journey.

Bellerin said: “Rob Holding was like my first support. He had got injured a couple of months before me, so every single thing he was going through, I could see that it would be me doing that in two months. He was the person that messaged me first, the person that offered me his advice from the beginning.

“He had a great rehab process because he was hitting all of the targets whenever he needed to. He was going even further than he needed to at the time, so for me that was a great inspiration to see how we were going to rehab with the same people, and it made me feel better seeing him do so well. It gave me a goal and an objective that I could basically reach.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh in six or nine months you’re going to be here’, no. I could properly see what the steps were and for me that was very helpful. Also, we’d always had an amazing relationship on and off the pitch anyway that obviously helped a lot.

“Rob and I still do yoga together at the club and we’re always part of a group that get together outside football as well. He’s someone that I think is loved by everyone at the club. He’s a great personality and is someone who loves to work, and he was the first person to show me that I would be back on the pitch again soon.”

Bellerin also revealed that witnessing his injury hit Holding hard.

“It wasn’t him that told me this, but someone came up to me after that Chelsea game and said, ‘Oh just so you know, when Rob saw you get injured he started crying’,” said Bellerin.

“And I thought it was crazy. At the time I’d got injured, I knew that I’d hurt myself and I’m not someone who dwells on things too much. Half an hour afterwards, everyone was feeling sorry for me but I didn’t need to hear it because I knew I wasn’t OK.

“I was past it, I was moving on and focusing on being in the right frame of mind for the next nine months. But then obviously I hadn’t gone through the surgery or the first few days of rehab, so I think Rob felt how hard it was going to be for me because he’d already gone through those stages.

“His emotion at the time just shows how much of a family we are in here and how just seeing your team-mate going through something like that can hit you.

“Rob is a great guy and isn’t afraid to show his emotions and that’s something which also made me realise how much we each appreciate each other. It’s great that I can share a dressing room with someone I have that sort of relationship and respect for – and the fact that we were able to make our comebacks together made it even more special.”

Since his return, Bellerin has played 14 times for Arsenal, scoring in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea and finishing on the winning side in his last three Premier League starts.