Omar Salgado insists he is ready to finally fulfil his enormous potential.
The 20-year old Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder has seen his fledgling career stall in the past two years but feels he is now fully equipped to deal with ebbs and flows of professional soccer.
Drafted by the Whitecaps with pick number one in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Salgado had a fairly impressive rookie season when scoring one goal in 14 appearances.
2012 did not pan out quite as well for the Texas native who sustained a foot injury which has troubled him since and forced him out of the entire 2013 campaign.
Ahead of the 2014 MLS season, however, Salgado is determined to become a key contributor for Vancouver as they strive to improve on their overall finish of 13th last term.
"I feel I do," Salgado told the Vancouver Sun when asked if he is aware of the lofty expectations placed on him.
"Obviously, I put that pressure on myself. I think I can do it. I have to be able to perform and show I can play in this league."
Of his debilitating injury, Salgado offered the following: "Nobody wants to go through an injury like that.
"After I broke it the third time, I didn't know if I was ever going to be able to play again. It was difficult in my head, emotionally just to keep my eyes on getting back to the pitch and being able to play again."
After 18 months on the sidelines, he added further that he is now ready for action: "It's a fresh start and I just want to play. There are a lot of young, hungry players up top. I have to fight as hard as I can. We'll see how it turns out."
