Mohammed Salisu: ‘Amazing feeling’ to return from long-term ACL injury

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salisu-mohammed/zuFTjQI5/"]Salisu[/a] made his long-awaited comeback on Friday, ending an eight-month spell on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury in January.[/p][p]The 27-year-old was introduced in the 90th minute as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/monaco/2PIvr8o4/"]Monaco[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/lens-IBmris38/monaco-2PIvr8o4/?mid=dSbbQWMk"]held on for victory[/a], marking his first competitive appearance since sustaining the serious knee injury.[/p][embed guid="0059b584-1c7b-48e7-ad25-6572d916c5c8" url="https://x.com/Ligue1_ENG/status/2101050081298239746?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]“It’s been a long and hard time. I am happy to be back. I hope to get more minutes. It’s a big step for me,”[/b] Salisu said after the game.[/p][p]The centre-back underwent surgery following the injury and spent several months working through his rehabilitation before returning to collective training with Monaco in August.[/p][p]His appearance against Lens represents an important milestone in his recovery as he begins the process of rebuilding his match fitness and competing for a regular place in Monaco’s defence.[/p][embed guid="63692a36-58ac-4034-b0a6-75cd0baa4f36" url="https://x.com/AS_Monaco_EN/status/2101049128306311212?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Salisu’s lengthy absence also ruled him out of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/nNBjHale/"]Ghana[/a]’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, while he was not included in Carlos Queiroz’s latest 24-man squad for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Côte d’Ivoire and The Gambia.[/p][p]The defender will now hope to build on his brief return and earn more minutes for Monaco as he continues his comeback from the ACL injury.[/p][image alt="Owuraku Ampofo" id="345f5fd0-6a26-4f45-8078-6462582c5da7" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="161fa5db-78f4-4a20-9f2b-d5e538bd9cbb" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]