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Bukayo Saka overcomes self-doubt to return ‘more balanced about football and life’

There were some upsides to the first serious layoff of Bukayo Saka’s career that enabled him to return with “a bit more of a balanced head about football and life”. More family time, more reading and more attention to a new puppy, Tucker the cockapoo, lifted the spirits during three months out with the torn hamstring that derailed his and Arsenal’s season. But in the lowest moments, which included going under the surgeon’s knife at 5am on Christmas Eve, the doubt that all elite sportspeople fear crept in.

“Looking back at it, I was happy with how I managed everything,” Saka says. “The first two days were the toughest, that realisation that I’ve got what I’ve got and I need an operation. You start to think: ‘Am I going to be the same?’ as players have come back from this injury and they weren’t the same. After two days the surgery was done and successful, and you just look forward. I was really positive and put in all the work I needed with my diet, in the gym, on the pitch, and the physios would say the same. I feel I’ve come back in a good place.”

Saka’s doubts were dispelled over the closing two months of a gruelling season, one that has yet to end for the 23-year-old as he prepares to make his first England appearance under Thomas Tuchel against Senegal on Tuesday. His Champions League performances against Real Madrid and Paris Saint‑Germain in particular brought reassurance at the highest level following several months on the sidelines. They also vindicated his decision to have surgery as soon as possible after tearing the hamstring against Crystal Palace on 21 December. Christmas 2024 was not the best.

“It was horrible,” Saka says. “Normally you get more time to make a decision [about surgery] but it was Christmas and the surgeons want to be with their families so I decided on the spot that we were doing the surgery. The quicker you do it, the quicker you start the recovery. Then it was deciding what time and was I going to be there on Christmas Day? That was the last thing I wanted.

“So I had to do it at 5am or 6am on Christmas Eve. Credit to the surgeon – he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 3pm or 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin’s house but I was in a big brace and had crutches. I had to get my presents brought to me. It doesn’t sound the worst thing [but] when everyone got up to go to the dining room, it took me about 10 minutes to get there.”

For the first time in more than five years as a fixed part of the Arsenal forward line, Saka was off what he describes as “a conveyor belt of games, training games and training”. He says: “I got to spend more time with my family and got to do more of the little things around the house that I wouldn’t have even paid attention to when I was playing. On that note it was nice and I’ve come back with a bit more of a balanced head about football and life, and I’m trying to balance them better. It definitely helped me mentally.”

Tucker the cockapoo arrived while Saka was rehabilitating from surgery. “It was a bit tough at first because he’s a puppy and I couldn’t really get after him. But it was a good experience.”

There was also more time for reading. One book in particular, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, struck a chord. “I read nonfiction,” Saka says. “One of the books I was given by Carlos [Cuesta, Mikel Arteta’s assistant coach] was called The Power of Now. A really good book. It’s about not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future, just being in the moment and always asking yourself what’s necessary right now.

“Sometimes I’d think: ‘Oh, am I going to come back in the best shape?’ Or, in the past: ‘What could I have done to prevent injury?’ But all that is not necessary. It’s only going to bring bad energy, negativity to your body. One of the best things I took from the book is always ask yourself: what’s necessary in this moment right now? And try to live that way.”

It is a philosophy Saka intends to apply to Arsenal’s attempt to win silverware next season. Watching Tottenham and Chelsea win European trophies last month hurt. “Of course, naturally, because you want that to be you.”

On Arsenal’s campaign, Saka says: “I was not happy with last season, how it went, how it ended. But the only thing I can do now is look forward and try to be the best version of myself and help my teammates be the same.”

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