An important match. After a bad start in the championship, RC Lens (14th, 8 points) travels, this Friday evening (9 p.m.), to the lawn of Le Havre AC at the opening of the 9th day of Ligue 1 with the ambition of winning the three points to get closer (provisionally) to European places…and build up confidence before hosting PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League next Tuesday (8:45 p.m.). In the absence of Elye Wahi (suspension), the Sang et Or will count in particular on Wesley Saïd to make the difference. Not spared from injuries in recent times, the versatile 28-year-old striker has regained sensations in recent weeks.
Muscle injured at the end of July, the Frenchman had a truncated summer preparation. He only returned to competition at the beginning of September, picking up minutes at the end of matches against AS Monaco (3-0) and FC Metz (0-1). Before starting straight away against Toulouse FC (1-2) and LOSC (1-1), in the “Northern derby”, before the international break. Tenurements which reward all the efforts he has made to get back into shape…and put his physical problems behind him. Indeed, the one who keeps wounding – eight already! – since his arrival in Artois, has “changed quite a few things” in his management of his convalescence, particularly in terms of “invisible” recovery and lifestyle. “I noticed that I could perhaps let certain things go less unlike other players. If I don’t do something thoroughly, I pay for it quickly. I try to take time for my body, and it’s going in the right direction at the moment,” he explained this Wednesday at a pre-match press conference, in comments reported by Lensois.com.
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By paying a little more attention, by going into more detail, the player trained at Téfécé gained confidence. “I have increased my sleep, I am also more careful with my diet, there are lots of little things that make me feel good. That I have no apprehension when I play. And confidence is coming back,” he told journalists. And now, he is a little more liberated on the field. “Before, with the injuries, as soon as I arrived on the field I had this thought. But I work a lot, especially with our mental trainer. It frees me and all this allows me to no longer ask myself any questions once on the ground. When I sit on my couch after a match or training, I tell myself that it’s holding up, and that gives me confidence,” he said.
And it’s felt on the ground. For his first start of the season, Wesley Saïd allowed the Sang et Or to win at home against the Violets by scoring the equalizing goal in added time of the first half. For his second, against the Mastiffs, he did not find the net but was very active and comfortable. “I felt good, like what I have been doing for several matches. I had really good feelings in my races, technically too. But it lacked finish. But I felt good, it was a good match on our part,” he said at a press conference. This Friday evening, against Le Havre AC, a team “with a lot of resources” according to Franck Haise, the Artesian striker will have to be effective in front of goals to allow RC Lens to obtain the three points and thus put themselves back in the standings. Ligue 1. His team is counting on him. Will he respond?