Jamie Gittens is hoping he can use pre-season as a springboard to a successful second season at Chelsea.
Gittens endured a tough first year at Chelsea following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund last summer, with injuries restricting the 21-year-old to only 491 minutes of Premier League football.
Gittens marked the first fixture of pre-season with a goal as Chelsea beat Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in a thrilling friendly clash on Tuesday.
He turned in from Joao Pedro’s comeback, as Chelsea started the Xabi Alonso era with a win in Australia.
The winger hopes that goal can be the start of improved fortunes in West London, as he looks to recover from a ‘frustrating’ start to his Chelsea career.
“I’m feeling better now,” Gittens said at full-time.
“My injuries are healing up now, so I feel really good. I feel in a good space with the team and in my body as well..
“Of course it has been frustrating, but with God’s grace I got through it, and he pulled me up today, so it’s just great to score a goal. To be back on the pitch with the team was really good.
“Western Sydney Wanderers fought a good game, they did really well. They were very aggressive and on the front foot to score. Scoring four goals, they’ve done a good job against us. For me, to score goals in any game is always a positive. That’s what I want to keep doing in the future as well.”