Graphic: Arsenal get firepower back

Arsène Wenger described one of the key players in Eduardo Da Silva’s remarkable recovery as a proxy wife because of the amount of time the pair spent together, but the Croatia striker prefers to think of the man in question as a second father.

Eduardo paid tribute to Tony Colbert, the Arsenal fitness coach, whom he made a point of seeking out on the touchline after scoring his second goal, from the penalty spot, against Cardiff City in their 4-0 FA Cup fourth-round replay victory on Monday evening. While he acknowledged that first goal in more than a year was for his immediate family, Andreja, his wife, and Lorena, his daughter, Eduardo’s second was dedicated to a colleague with whom he also shares a strong sense of kinship.

Eduardo was helped by a number of surgeons, specialists and physiotherapists as he undertook the long and painful road to recovery from the broken leg and dislocated ankle that he suffered almost a year ago, but Colbert was there every step of the way. While Gary Lewin, the Arsenal physiotherapist, played a crucial role in salvaging Eduardo’s career with his quick thinking on the pitch in the immediate aftermath of his collision with Martin Taylor last February, it was Colbert who took charge of most of the rehabilitation work.

After Eduardo’s crutches were put aside last May, the pair spent the best part of six months working day after day in virtual solitude, with the Brazilian-born forward lifting weights, then going on to mobilisation work and light running before he returned to training in November. It is little wonder they developed a bond, which had the by-product of helping to improve Eduardo’s faltering English.

“The first goal was for me, my family, but for the second one, I went to Tony Colbert,” he said. “We worked hard and he was like my second father. We spent a lot of time together every day and I think this goal was special for him and for all the staff. I spent a lot of time with Tony.”

Eduardo may be Colbert’s most dramatic success story, but he is not the only leading player to have shown gratitude for his diligence. After leaving his previous career running several gyms 11 years ago, the 45-year-old was instrumental in extending the careers of players such as Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn, helped Thierry Henry to recover his sharpness after suffering several injuries and was even sought out by David Beckham when the England midfield player trained with Arsenal last year in an attempt to maintain fitness during the MLS close-season.

Keeping up Eduardo’s spirits represented a different challenge however, particularly on the mental side, and it is a period of his life that the player would like to forget.

“It was hard as it’s one week away from one year now,” Eduardo said. “I know it was very hard for me, my family and my friends, but I think I have to forget what happened and feel happy now.”

Wenger will resist the urge to play him every week so soon after his recovery — the 25-year-old suffered up a hamstring problem against Cardiff and is doubtful for Saturday’s visit of Sunderland — but Eduardo is confident of making a difference for the rest of the season.

“I think we have three or four months until the end of the championship and I’m here to help Arsenal to be on top of the Premier League or in the first three,” he said. “We’re in the FA Cup, I want to get to the final and in the Champions League we want to go far. I received a lot of cards from England and Croatia and this made me stronger and helped me get back quicker.”