Return after 16-month absence 'amazing' - Townsend

Until Albion's Carabao Cup win at Rotherham, Conor Townsend had not kicked a ball in competitive action since Ipswich's 2-2 draw at Chelsea on 13 April 2025 [Adam Fradgley - Getty Images] West Bromwich Albion's Conor Townsend has said it was an "amazing" feeling to make his first competitive appearance for 16 months, after what he described as "mentally the most difficult season of my career". The 33-year-old left-back, who returned to Albion in July after two years with Ipswich Town, missed all of the 2025-26 campaign because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Townsend came off the bench for the final 17 minutes of Albion's 4-1 Carabao Cup win at Rotherham on Saturday. "It was amazing," he told BBC Radio WM. "It was a really tough year last season. It was the first serious injury I've had in my career and it was difficult." West Brom ease to Carabao Cup victory at Rotherham Albion re-sign Townsend after Ipswich exit Albion sold Townsend to Ipswich in the summer of 2024, ending his six-year stint at The Hawthorns, and he made 10 appearances in all competitions during 2024-25 as the Tractor Boys were relegated from the Premier League. The knee injury Townsend sustained during pre-season a year ago prevented him from playing any on-field part in Ipswich's promotion-winning campaign. "I'd say it was mentally more difficult than physically," he said. "Physically, it takes time to get to where you want to be. Mentally, the time out is the hardest thing. "My wife and kids were in Birmingham so I was living between [there and Ipswich]. Obviously the lads were there and I was doing things with them, but when you're not training and just going in and doing rehab, it's tough. "It was, mentally, the most difficult season of my career. "But the rehab actually went really well, I didn't have any setbacks throughout it and my knee has felt pretty good all the way through. I've not had too many major problems with it. "It was just about me knuckling down, going through the process and giving myself the best shot to get back playing this season and hopefully for a few more years." 'Air of positivity' heading into season Townsend's contract at Ipswich expired in the summer but the Suffolk club invited him to participate in pre-season training, an offer he was thankful for as it allowed him to "hit the ground running" when the chance to rejoin Albion arose. He said returning to The Hawthorns and therefore moving much closer to his family base was "an easy decision to make", while it also reunited him with Baggies head coach James Morrison - a former team-mate during his first spell with the club. "We were friends when we played and then he has been a coach here when I was here," said Townsend of Morrison. "He's a legend at the club and what he did for the team last year was brilliant." Albion put together a 10-match unbeaten run during Morrison's spell in interim charge, a sequence which moved them away from relegation trouble in the Championship, and he was appointed as full-time boss at the end of April. Townsend continued: "It's hard when you're down the bottom and losing games, but the manager and the players did really well to turn that momentum around. "By the end of it, it was a lot more positive and it feels like that this season. "Pre-season has been really positive, the new lads who have come in have hit the ground running, so I feel there is an air of positivity around the place, which is really nice considering the league position last year. "We need to carry that positivity into the season and use that little bit of momentum for the start of this season." Latest West Bromwich Albion news, analysis and fan views