Bent Sörmo was surprised that he got red on Stayen. “Fortunately, the day after that there was already the message that there was no suspension.” — © BELGIUM
For months Bent Sörmo watched from the sidelines. A persistent injury played tricks on him. Now the 26-year-old Norwegian is trying to conquer a place in Mbaye Leye’s starting eleven again. “I can now fully focus on sports again.”
Stefan Smet
Last week, Sörmo kicked off an official match for the first time this season. However, the affable Norwegian could not really enjoy a visit to STVV. “That red card after 35 minutes was of course a bitter pill to swallow. Fortunately, a day later I received the message that I would not be suspended. For me it is also proof that the VAR could have intervened. Well, afterwards I am especially happy that I appeared at the kick-off again.”
“The past year was therefore quite tough”, Sörmo tells the story of a special injury very serenely. “It was actually the first time I was out for so long. It also took me a while before I really knew what was going on. Muscle fatigue is not such a common problem. My surgery was also postponed for another three weeks due to covid. Fortunately, it turned out that I could fully recover with the right treatment. On the last match day of the previous season I was also able to celebrate my return.”
© Dick Demey
But then things went wrong again for the Norwegian. Once again he disappeared into anonymity for months and had to fight back. “A week after we returned from leave, the pain in my knee returned. That was probably the most difficult period. I knew perfectly what to expect and it was also quite tough mentally to be sidelined for so long again. Fortunately, I had the support of my girlfriend and my family and friends.”
“I’m gradually feeling my old self again”, beams a visibly relieved Sörmo. “My values are now about the same as before my injury and with the necessary preventive exercises I can play football worry-free in the future. This way I can fully focus on the sporty again. That promises to be quite difficult indeed. No, I don’t know the ranking by heart. That’s not necessary. I think we should just win as many games as possible. We also have enough quality in our ranks for that.”
Delighted with Vormer
The selection of Essevee already received a hefty injection of quality this week with the arrival of veteran Ruud Vormer. “An absolute top professional”, sounds Sörmo very excited. “You immediately notice that Ruud can really teach our team something. In terms of personality but also purely sporty. He will certainly become a leader in the dressing room as well. During his years in Bruges, he has sufficiently proven what he has to offer.”
“January will indeed be a very important month for us. We meet a lot of top teams. However, such duels are not always decided on pure quality. If you’re not as strong, you just have to be smarter. Things have sometimes gone wrong for us up to now, but Ruud can also add value there with his experience. On Sunday we just have to try to keep the three points at home against KV Mechelen and then we will also have to collect points against Genk, Club Brugge and Anderlecht. We know what we have to do.”
© BELGIUM
