A key Coventry City player provides an honest update on his contract predicament.
Callum O’Hare’s return to the pitch after a 10-month absence was the long-awaited comeback for Coventry City fans on Wednesday night.
The attacking midfielder, who joined the Sky Blues from Aston Villa in the summer of 2020 after a successful League One loan spell, had missed the majority of the 2022-23 season due to two major injuries.
O’Hare tore his hamstring on the eve of the season, at a time when Burnley were widely tipped to sign him, and just two months later, a ruptured ACL on Boxing Day 2022 against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane terminated his season.
Like any serious knee injury, O’Hare’s recovery has been slow and arduous, but with Cov chasing the game against Rotherham United earlier this week, Mark Robins turned to the diminutive midfielder 15 minutes from time for his comeback.
City lost 2-0 in the end, but there was a lot of joy to see O’Hare back on the pitch – the issue remains though that his contract, like Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres had in the summer before they were sold, is expiring in the summer of 2024.
What has Doug King said on Callum O’Hare’s Coventry City contract situation?
At a Fans’ Forum event earlier this week, Coventry owner Doug King addressed O’Hare’s situation, with the knowledge in the public domain that his deal expires at the end of the current campaign.
And to the delight of many supporters, King revealed that there has been initial talks over a new deal for the 25-year-old.
“We’ve obviously been busy and he’s taken a while to come back,” King said.
“We know where he is in his contract situation and clearly we really rate him – and we’ve opened discussions and we’ll see how that all unfolds.
What has Callum O’Hare said on his Coventry City contract situation?
Whilst King said that discussions have begun in regards to O’Hare’s deal, it doesn’t look as though talks have gotten very far, which is perhaps to be expected when the midfielder has been out for so long.
Speaking on his current situation, O’Hare told the Coventry Telegraph: “I haven’t spoken to the club much about anything.
“I told my agent, ‘listen, I’m injured, and all I want to do is focus on getting back in shape and playing, and then we can start talking properly when I’m back in shape.'”
“I enjoy it here, but all I can think about is getting in shape.”
“Unless you’ve been out injured, you wouldn’t understand.”
“You just want to play football, so when you’re in the gym every day, you’re not thinking about a contract, you’re just thinking about playing football.”
“And now I am back I just want to focus on playing in front of the fans again.”
