Brighton & Hove Albion servant Solly March wants to extend his career for “quite a few years” after a goalscoring return from serious knee damage.
March was on target within three minutes of coming on as a substitute at right-wingback in Saturday’s 4-0 win at Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup.
It was his second late appearance off the bench since two operations to repair meniscus damage and a ruptured cruciate ligament sustained at Manchester City in October 2023.
March has suffered three major knee injuries in a first-team career at Brighton spanning 288 appearances over 12 years.
He ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in December 2015, which kept him out for 11 months. He had surgery again on a torn meniscus in February 2021, which ruled him out until the start of the following season.
March, who turned 30 last July, told The Athletic: “The more you do it, the longer it is going to take each time. I’m not quite old enough to make it too long yet!
“But every operation on the same knee is going to take a bit longer each time. It was about not rushing it. I think I’ve still got quite a few years left to play if my knee’s good, which I think it will be. I’ve just got to take my time. I still want to play for the next five or six years.”
The versatile 30-year-old was in the best form of his career under former head coach Roberto De Zerbi at the time of his latest injury.
He scored seven goals with seven assists in his first 19 Premier League appearances for De Zerbi in 2022-23, playing in his primary role as a right-winger.
De Zerbi has been replaced by Fabian Hurzeler during March’s spell on the sidelines, while a spending spree of nearly £200 million on nine new signings last summer increased fierce competition on the right flank.
March, under contract until 2026 with the option of a further year, said: “A lot of money has been spent, but I think that’s great for the club and it’s great for the competition. There are a lot of players wanting to play games, which is only going to push each other on and hopefully make everyone better.
“Hopefully this can be the start of another few years of good football for me.”
Brighton, 10th in the table, return to Premier League action at Ipswich on Thursday.
(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
