Reading FC forward Yakou Meite has revealed his eagerness to find his consistent scoring form once again.
The Royals forward was out of action from June 2021 until January 2022 with a cruciate ligament rupture and has struggled for consistent game time since returning to action.
Having played a pivotal striking role for the side since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, Meite has netted 38 Championship goals in 116 appearances for the club.
“It’s difficult to come back and be 100% straight away so there is still a lot of work for me to do,” said Meite.
“Even if I want to train every day and play every game, my body can’t really do that at the moment.
“If it’s not my knee then I will feel something else so I need to be careful.
“I’m trying to manage the way I train and the way I was training before, I can’t do that at the moment so I need to protect myself from any other injuries.
“When you have a lot of games coming up it’s all about recovery. The games are coming fast so we have to recover properly.
“But honestly if you ask me every time even if I’ve only got one leg I’ll tell the coach I’m ready to start.”
The Ivorian is keen to get on the scoresheet once again having returned to fitness after playing 75 minutes for Noel Hunt’s under 21’s side last week.
He continued: “I played 75 minutes with the under 21’s so I’m ready to do at least 75 minutes now.
“With the formation we are playing now, I think the best for me is when we play with two up front. I don’t really like playing as a lone striker but when I play with someone else I think it is better for me because I can make my runs and be more free.
“When you’re playing as a lone striker you stay in the middle and can’t move too much because then there is no one in the box.
“I’m just trying to score my first goal. I scored a lot in pre pre-season but it’s been a long time since I scored in the league.
“I need to score my first goal and then after that I’m sure I will score as always.
“I’m confident in what I can do and know exactly where I can progress and what I’m good at. After my big injury my confidence wasn’t low but I need to get that first goal.
“I think with all the strikers we’ve got we’ve got different styles. But If I talk about my style I think I can play with anyone.
“Lucas (Joao) or Andy Carroll won’t play the same so I can play with them.
“I played the last two games with Andy and we had a good relationship on the pitch.”
