The date has been set for the Chelsea striker to turn his increasingly tragic career around

It was painful to watch Armando Broja’s career up close. It happened repeatedly that hopes were dashed by tragedy.

Think back to his time in the Chelsea academy and he really wasn’t The highly rated. There were definitely a lot of players that people liked more than him.

But an exceptional loan spell at Vitesse came out of the blue and raised expectations, and a subsequent bright spot in the Premier League with Southampton further raised his profile.

Unfortunately from that point on there was one injury after another that cost him form, playing time and finally his place in the squad. He was loaned out to Everton for the season – but even that almost fell through after his medical revealed an Achilles tendon injury that we didn’t even know much about.

Enzo Maresca with Armando Broja.

The good news – and boy, does he need some – is that the move didn’t end up a failure. Everton were willing to take the risk despite knowing the Albania international would be out for some time.

According to the Athletic’s Simon Johnson, they could finally get a reward for their patience. Broja is “pushing his recovery forward” and hopes to be playing in about a month. This gives him the upcoming international break and some time afterwards to join his teammates and get up to speed.

The Toffees are in big relegation trouble despite a win last weekend and adding a regular goalscorer to their team would make a big difference. We don’t want to have high hopes for Armando again after the last few years – but this is really a great opportunity for him if he gets fit again and can be successful.