Kadioglu getting back in the groove after injury layoff

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Turkish defender is enjoying return to first team action.

2025-09-23T06:00+01:00

Ferdi Kadioglu has made four Premier League appearances so far this campaign. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Ferdi Kadioglu is looking to the future after recovering from the toe problem that cost him most of last season.

The Türkiye full back picked up the injury in the 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. He was able to start the following match, scoring his only Premier League goal so far in a 2-1 loss to the same opponents at Anfield, but that was his final appearance of the campaign.

“I had a long injury,” he said. “My last first eleven game was last October, so yeah, a long time ago. I’m really happy to be back with the team and hopefully we can have a good season.

“When someone is out for, I was out for seven months, you get a lot of questions – ‘What's wrong, what happened?’ I think a toe injury is always really difficult because you're always on your feet. And it's a part of the body that heals slowly. So that was quite difficult.

“But I don't want to look back too much, just look forward and be positive.”

Ferdi Kadioglu and Mohammed Kudus fight for possession. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

He returned to full training in the summer, and has since featured in every one of Fabian Hurzeler’s matchday selections this season. He has also returned to the Türkiye squad, making substitute appearances in World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Spain.

His first start came in the 6-0 Carabao Cup victory away to Oxford United and his first Premier League start was against Tottenham on Saturday, when he was named the sponsors’ man of the match.

He put in a battling performance at left back against Spurs’ Mohammed Kudus and showed his attacking instincts with a lung-bursting forward run to meet a cross from Kaoru Mitoma, reminding fans that his goal at Anfield came from a forward position on the right.

“I prefer to be a full back,” he said. “But if the gaffer needs me in front, I will help the team in front. I'm flexible on that. If he needs me left or right, I will try to do my best.

“I think first half I did really well, until about 65 minutes. After that I was a little bit tired. But Kudus is a great player, he tries to beat you every time, one against one. I tried my best today, I gave everything and I can look back on a good game.

“2-0 up, before the break 2-1 and then second half 2-2, it was a hard-fought battle but at the end just one point. We had to keep the ball a bit longer, we lost it quite quickly.

“But that's something to work on. We'll analyse the game and then look at what we can do better. Everyone fought really hard and defended as a team, but yeah, unfortunately not a win.”

Whether he now needs to rest or stays in the team for this evening’s trip to Yorkshire in the Carabao Cup remains to be seen. “First a good recovery from this match. And then let's see what's going to happen against Barnsley.”