The Serbian midfielder was on the receiving end of a horror tackle during the club's 1-1 draw with Burnley, while he insists Chelsea must win the Premier League title
Nemanja Matic admits he is grateful that he can still walk after Ashley Barnes’ tackle in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Burnley in February.
Barnes clashed with the Serbian and Matic was subsequently sent off for his furious reaction as he pushed the Burnley midfielder to the ground.
While Barnes went unpunished, Matic served a two-match ban but, having returned to the side, he says he is “happy”, because he feared he had sustained a potentially career-ending injury.
“To be honest I was happy when I saw the video after the game – as it was bad. I am happy that I can still play,” he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
“My reaction was not good but this reaction was because I thought I broke a leg. I am a happy man because I can walk.
“I don’t like to say that I was right to react like I did. I was not right. But this was a moment when you cannot control your emotions. I saw a replay one time only – that was enough.”
Matic returned to action in the 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, which saw Chelsea eliminated from the Champions League on away goals, and he believes that Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s sending off worked against the Blues.
“To be honest, we didn’t play well,” he added. “We played against a very good team with very good individuals – but after the Ibrahimovic red card maybe we thought it would be, not easy, but easier for us as we had one player more.”
Despite their European exit, Jose Mourinho has spoken of his “unshakeable” belief in his Chelsea side, insisting that they will win the Premier League title, and Matic has echoed his manager.
“Now, we must win. We have to win the Premier League if we want to finish this as a good season,” he added.
"If we win the league, we will have that and the Capital One Cup and it will be a good season. Otherwise, it is going to be bad.
“I know it is going to be difficult until the end, but Manchester City also play difficult games. It is more difficult for them than us as we have five points more and have played one game less.
“If we win the league, it’s going to be like a dream for us because we know what we speak about every day and we know the Premier League for us is something we have to win. We want to win and we must win."
