AFC Bournemouth
It’s been anything but lucky for AFC Bournemouth’s number seven this season. At times, David Brooks must feel like he’s walked under a leaning ladder.
By his own brutal admission, Brooks has underperformed, although the gifted playmaker could point to some mitigating circumstances.
He returned from an 11-month layoff to feature in the final nine games of a Covid-extended 2019/20 campaign when the Cherries lost their Premier League status.
A minor knock disrupted his start to 2020/21, forcing Brooks to miss six games, before he enjoyed his longest run in the squad since joining the club from Sheffield United in July 2018.
However, despite being involved in 25 matches in succession, Brooks was struck down by injury – and then illness – keeping him out for seven weeks until his return at Blackburn on Easter Monday.
“I’ve heard of lucky seven but it hasn’t really worked for me this season!” said Brooks in an interview with afcb.co.uk.
“Me and Arnie were both changing numbers and he wanted ten. We came to a mutual agreement that he would go ten and I would go seven. I was happy with the number, I like seven.
“I’ve been a bit unfortunate and every time I’ve tried to come back, something has happened.
“I was meant to be back on Good Friday against Middlesbrough and then got ill two days before the game. That summed up my luck at the moment but I’m working hard to try to change it.
“Until my ankle injury in pre-season 2019, I’d never really had an injury. I’d only had glandular fever and was a bit unlucky with how severe that got. It’s been a series of unfortunate events.
“Being injured for so long, you are itching to get back. There are times when you’re in the gym and you really want to be outside but there is no way you can be. It’s tough and the mental side is massive.”
The Wales international hit the ground running and enjoyed a memorable first season at Vitality Stadium, netting seven times in 30 Premier League games.
However, his injury problems started when he damaged ankle ligaments in a friendly against Brentford in July 2019, keeping him sidelined until June 2020.
“Off the back of a good season, it was tough to watch the team struggle and be in a relegation battle,” said Brooks.
“Confidence was low when I came back and I tried to be the spark to get something out of every game. I was fully fit without the ball but probably not quite fully fit with the ball.
“It’s tough when you want to do something you know you’re capable of but can’t.
“It’s quite challenging and you go home and think you should have done this or that today but, in realistic terms, you just weren’t capable of doing it on the day.
“It was the first time in my career that had happened and it was a tough one to take especially when I hadn’t played three-quarters of the season and we ended up getting relegated.
“There is an added pressure knowing I want to be a starter and want to play every game.
“I don’t take much notice of the majority of fans on social media because you can have one bad game and everyone seems to batter you anyway.
“You need to pick and choose what you read online because when you’re playing well, it’s all good but there is a downside to listening to too many people.
“I’m probably my biggest critic, I just haven’t been good enough this season. With everything that’s gone on, I’m the first one who’s trying to rectify that.
“I want to try to get better and try to help the team earn promotion. My aim is to help the team the best I can.
“Goals and assists will come once you start getting in the right places but I just want to perform well and help the team in every aspect.
“It’s nice to score but keeping the ball and setting up other players is just as important. I just want to get back to playing well and returning home from a game thinking I’ve done well rather than thinking maybe I haven’t played well.”
Having been struck down by glandular fever in 2017, Brooks is more mindful of illnesses, like the head cold which laid him low ahead of the visit of Middlesbrough a week ago.
He added: “I’ve got to be careful of doing certain things and making my immune system weak. I’ve modified things a little to try to help with that.
“Getting glandular fever wasn’t nice. I’d been linked with Bournemouth and it was all over social media saying I was going to leave in the January.
“People were suggesting I was faking it and refusing to play because I wanted a move to Bournemouth but I was lying in bed being violently sick.
“I missed three months of football so that wasn’t ideal. It stays with you and I need to be careful about getting ill because it can affect me more and it takes a couple more days to recover.”
