Liam Cullen determined to come back stronger from injury

Liam Cullen has vowed to come back stronger from his injury setback as the striker looks forward to a bright future at Swansea City.

Cullen recently signed a new contract that commits him to the club until the summer of 2024.

That came shortly after the 21-year-old suffered an ankle injury during the FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest – a tie in which he scored twice.

Head coach Steve Cooper confirmed the academy product could be sidelined for at least three months, which means he could sit out the rest of the season.

But Cullen remains positive as he starts his rehabilitation.

“It was great to have scored a few goals in the FA Cup and to sign the new contract,” said Cullen. “The only negative has been the injury.

“I’ve always believed I could play at this level. The Forest game gave me more confidence that I can go and do well at this level.

“Hopefully, when I’m back fit again, I can pick up where I left off.”

Cullen’s brace against Forest was a timely reminder of his qualities, with the Kilgetty product sidefooting home a sublime volley from Wayne Routledge’s cross.

His second came via another cross – this time from Ryan Manning – as Cullen carefully steered his finish inside the near post.

The quality of his finishing comes after hours of hard work on the training pitch during his time in the under-23s and first-team set ups.

“With Marshy (Mike Marsh) and the gaffer, we do a lot of shooting drills and I normally get in a few extra drills with either of them after training,” said Cullen.

“When I was injured previously with a broken thumb, I did a lot of sessions with (under-23s coach) Jon Grey where we’d three mannequins in the box and we’d call a number out and I’d make my run there to get onto the end of a cross and it was always a one-touch finish.

“We’d always work on a good contact with the ball and try to guide it to the corner of the net using the power of the pass.

“When I’m doing drills like that, the pace on every cross is different so it’s up to me to decide how I make my run.

“A lot of hard work has gone into it, which off against Forest, but there’s room to work on it and improve that aspect of my game more.”