Even when he took the unusual decision to train with the first team

Even when he took the unusual decision to train with the first team and play for the reserves without being paid, once he had been told that his contract would not be renewed, he was always made to feel a part.No wonder, then, Blomqvist has been keeping an anxious eye on recent events at Old Trafford. “I’m not all that surprised they are having problems,” he says. “We have seen in the past how departing managers can affect players. Look how quickly things went wrong once Sven [Goran Eriksson] announced he would leave Lazio to join England Maybe the players find it hard to focus. The Man U boys are going to have to work hard to get themselves out of their current plight, but all I know is that they definitely have the players to achieve anything they want – I’m sure of that.”Blomqvist will be hoping that Manchester United’s road to recovery is not as long and tortuous as the one he has taken. Following four operations (three on the right knee and one on the left), 31 months of physiotherapy, several weeks of counselling, numerous days of fitness training, and countless hours of worrying, the little Swede is finally in a position to resume his career on the left of midfield.”I’m so happy to be at another big Premiership club,” says Blomqvist, whose only goal for United was scored against Everton and at Goodison.

“Of course, I need to get a little bit more match shape, but otherwise I’m doing fine – I feel ready I worry a bit, but I do believe that I can make it. When you have been out for so long, it’s difficult to know what’s missing from your game. I’m close, but I will need a few matches to make a better assessment.”Having spent so long on the sidelines, Blomqvist is naturally anxious not to rush back before he is fully recovered. The 27-year-old wants this Everton-based comeback to be for good, not just for Christmas. “I feel right at the moment,” says Blomqvist, who is on a six-month contract, “but I know it could all change very quickly I don’t want to get myself up and then break down again.

I don’t want to have to relive the lows.”Despite the support he received from friends and family, it is little surprise to hear that Blomqvist had periods of self-doubt. “There were times when it was really hard, everything hurt, and I wondered if I could carry on,” he says. “Recovery became very monotonous, which is why I tried to vary my programme as much as possible. If I hadn’t done that, I think I would have gone mad after a year. The worst thing, though, is that you worry that the cycle of injuries will never stop.”The end did come, but not until Blomqvist had bumped into his old Old Trafford team-mate Jordi Cruyff.