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Ben Godfrey on what he misses most during football’s lockdown
Norwich City defender Ben Godfrey is looking forward to getting back in action Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Ben Godfrey is missing his football fix as much as any Norwich City fan.
The England Under-21 centre back is miles from his family back in York and like the rest of Daniel Farke’s squad waiting for when football can return, in the midst of a global pandemic that has halted the Canaries’ season.
“Football has been in my life every weekend for years. To stop it and see it fall off the edge of a cliff and disappear for a while is bizarre,” he said. “I know it will be the same for the fans. They will really miss not watching at the weekends.
“I went through the same thing when I was suspended. You are fit and healthy but you are not able to play. We are raring to go and the game is not there. “When something you love to do is taken away from you it is a massive shock to the system. Everyone will appreciate it that little bit more when it does return.
“I am safe and healthy and that is the most important thing.
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“There are more important things happening in the world right now than week to week fixtures. We have to stick together as a country and that is the only way to get through a crazy period.”
Godfrey admits it is hard not to see his family.
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“It has always been tough. Since I moved down here when I was 18 I have been away from them,” he said. “During this period with the coronavirus you want to see them to make sure they are okay but it is too big a risk, but we are a tight knit family and we can stay in touch and we do regularly.
“I have little sisters so they are causing carnage for my mum and dad.
“They are all fit and healthy and that is the main thing.
“My dad is at home with a house full of girls and now he can’t even have his fix of sport on the phone with me. He must be really struggling.
“I am treating it as a normal off-season and I take pride in my fitness.
“You are never guaranteed a good game every week but there is no excuse not to work hard. It is the least you can do.
“We are professional athletes at the end of the day.
“It is our job to keep ourselves in tip top shape and we know what we have to do in this spell. If everything does clear up and we get a date to return you would expect to have maybe a couple of weeks of team training, so in that respect it might feel a bit like a pre-season.”
