Birmingham City: Future's looking healthy for Liam Ridgewell

Dec 9 2009 By Andy Walker

LIAM Ridgewell is enjoying life as a makeshift left-back as an emotional 2009 continues to end on a high note for the Blues defender.

The Blues squad took time out of their training schedule yesterday to spread festive cheer to some of the city’s hospitals.

And Ridgewell was part of the group of players who dropped in to Birmingham Children’s Hospital bearing gifts.

It’s a place that is particularly close to the 25-year-old’s heart after he and his family unexpectedly found themselves in one of the wards over the summer.

That’s because while Ridgewell was recovering from a broken left leg, his young daughter was taken ill with meningitis.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals this year,” Ridgewell reflected.

“Of course I was in hospital with my broken leg and I was in this (Birmingham Children’s) hospital with my little girl over the summer because she had meningitis so it certainly wasn’t a good summer.

“It was a bad time with my little girl but she’s all fine now. She was nine months when she got it and now she’s getting on 13 months. Fortunately she’s recovered well.

“The year is picking up for me now.”

Ridgewell made a miraculous return to action for Blues in September after fewer than five months out with the leg break sustained at home to Plymouth last season.

With Roger Johnson and Scott Dann’s centre-half partnership continuing to blossom, Ridgewell slotted in at left-back and hasn’t looked back.

The Londoner has impressed in his makeshift role so much that fit-again specialist left-back Gregory Vignal remains benched.

“I’m enjoying it to be honest,” said the ex-England Under-21 international. The gaffer asked me to do a job there when I came back from injury and I’m fitting in well.

“I like getting forward and trying to play a little bit. I’m just doing the job that the gaffer has asked me to do and I’m just trying to enjoy every game that I play in.

“To be fair, I feel comfortable in most positions I play in. I feel comfortable on the ball and every time I get it, I’m decent on it.

‘‘I don’t mind slotting in where I’m needed to play. Coming off the back of my broken leg, it was just nice to be playing and to get back in there.

“I still feel I’m a centre-half, but coming through the injury problems and being a left-footed centre-half then you have to fill in for people and that’s what I’ve got to do.

“The two centre-halves have been doing well in that position and keeping clean sheets.”