Sasa Kalajdzic says he’s “really happy” to be back fit and featuring fully in Wolves’ pre-season programme out in Portugal.
The Austrian is now back from his latest serious knee injury, and partaking in all of Vitor Pereira’s pre-season sessions, and stepped up his recovery my featuring in the first training match fixture of the summer on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old marked his return with a goal too, showing composure to put his side in front, and having got through the test with his body feeling strong, the attacker was in positive spirits post-match, just pleased to be back playing football with his teammates.
On being back playing
“It was a really good feeling, after a long, long time, just kicking the ball with my mates in an unofficial, but for me, more official game. I'm just happy that everything went well. In terms of fitness, I gained more minutes, I played with the others to get to know them again, more and more on the pitch. For me personally, it was a really, really good next step.
“There's not an obligation to do this and this, the most important thing is to tick it off, to have the first game again, to feel everything, get aware of everything, and I think that was a really good first step. There is a long, long pre-season to go, and a lot more games. My goals will go higher, and my ambitions will go higher with that, but for now, I'm really happy.”
On grabbing a goal
“It’s always great, and it's easier for me, and it's easier for everyone, if you're successful. But today was very good. In training I hit it [the back of the net] a few times, but it's not the same feeling, and I hope I can continue with it. Right now, I'm really, really pleased.
“I felt stable. I felt good. I felt strong. The last minutes were kind of hard, especially with the heat, but every game, every minute is helping me to recover even better. But in terms of the injury, I felt really, really good.”
Sasa on target 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Q95Zv8oOCg
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 15, 2025
On building new relationships
“I think we're doing well. Pre-season doesn't count; at the end the season is what counts. Of course, you want to win, and you want to score as many goals as you can, but the most important thing is that we build up chemistry, and we build up a good relationship on and off the pitch. I think there were a lot of good situations today and a lot of things we can work on, but this is what pre-season is there for.
“There's a lot of things which I see I can improve. For me personally, I think there's a lot to improve, but it's normal. It was a long rehab, and I will take it step by step. I have good people around me who are supporting me and who are assisting me to manage it well, and that's why I'm not concerned. I'm just letting it flow and letting it come to me and just enjoying it as well.”
On getting through pre-season
“It's very tough to enjoy yourself. With goals, with every good pass, every good situation, you enjoy yourself more and more, and it gets better. The most important thing is that no one got injured, everyone got through it. We had two good halves. There's a lot of things we can take with us, a lot of things we can improve, and then we'll take the best out of it and try to make it better the next time.
“Normally, no one is looking forward to pre-season, but this time I'm really, really looking forward to it because I didn’t have it for a long time.”
