Finished? Dunne's just had nine clean sheets in a row! QPR defender opens up about return to fitness and form By NEIL MOXLEY PUBLISHED: 22:30, 14 October 2013 | UPDATED: 22:30, 14 October 2013 There have been a few adjectives used to describe Richard Dunne over the years. Fearless, tough, reliable, hard. But there was one in particular against which he has railed for over a year now: Finished. As the veteran defender sips a cuppa at QPRâs training ground he looks back on a battle that, for the time being, he has won. He is fit and playing, and QPR manager Harry Redknapp is the beneficiary. Rangers have just set a club record. The 2-0 victory over Barnsley two Saturdays ago was the sideâs eighth successive Championship clean sheet. Dunne has played in all those games â and another clean sheet in the Capital One Cup â with some observers labelling him the Vincent Kompany of the Championship. please log in to view this image Still going strong: Dunne climbs high to beat Leeds United's Noel Hunt to the ball --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW HE'S BEEN KEEPING THEM OUT Richard Dunne made his QPR debut in the 2-0 Capital One Cup win at Exeter on August 6 and played his first Championship match for the club 11 days later, a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich. The Irishman has not missed a minute of seven Championship matches since then â a league run taking in Bolton, Leeds, Birmingham, Brighton, Yeovil, Middlesbrough and Barnsley. In that time, a Rangers defence expertly marshalled by Dunne have not conceded a goal. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Having a defender around of Dunneâs quality at the age of 33 has been an undoubted boon, and QPR are unbeaten in the League this season. Not bad for a man who was released by Aston Villa in the summer. âI am enjoying myself,â says Dunne, who had been chased by Redknapp twice before during his career. âObviously, it has been a difficult time for the club but essentially it remains a good one. It was a blow losing Steve McClaren (Redknappâs assistant who left for Derby last month) because he was a good coach who always came into work with a smile on his face. But itâs about the players and I think we have some good ones. âIâm not here to just pick up my wages. Itâs in my contract here that if my groin was to go then my contract will be cancelled in six weeks. Iâll just walk away. Thereâs no way Iâm going to sit in the gym for another year.â Not when he came so close never playing again. In February last year, while playing for Aston Villa against Manchester City, Dunne broke his collarbone after colliding with City goalkeeper Joe Hart. He then endured months of injury problems that he now admits could have ended his career. please log in to view this image Not wanted: Dunne was released by Aston Villa at the end of last season after four years with the club âI was out for 12 weeks and during rehab I felt a couple of twinges in my groin and abdominal area when running,â Dunne recalls. âI had a couple of injections and went to the Euros with Ireland. When I came back, I had a pre-season game in America with Villa and I couldnât kick the ball. âSo I went to see a specialist in London. He just said, âItâs wear and tear, Iâll operate and youâll be OK in six weeks.â âSix weeks later, I was back. He had a look and then said, âItâs not right. It must be the abdominal musclesâ.â Six weeks later the specialist was still scratching his head. please log in to view this image Red hot: Dunne has helped QPR keep nine clean sheets in a row since breaking into Harry Redknapp's first choice XI please log in to view this image Experienced duo: Dunne and Joey Barton (left) have helped QPR to second place in the Championship âI saw a professor in Coventry who remarked that he had never seen an injury like the one I had. He said he knew two fellas who could do half a repair job each. Or I could go to America and take my chances over there. âI walked out of that meeting, turned to Villa physio Paul Rastrick, and said, âThatâs it, Iâm not going to play again. He doesnât think he can fix it.â âHe had another go. I found myself in a park in Coventry at 6am, kicking footballs about and wondering what on earth I was doing. Because of his workload, it was the only time this fella could see me. No joy. âBack down to London to see a specialist. She prodded my leg with huge, knitting needle-sized instruments. âIf it had been a nerve problem then that would have been it. If it (the nerve) had been severed or damaged during operations Iâd had, they take so long to grow back â three or four years â I wouldnât have come back at my age. When she said it wasnât a nerve problem I thought I had a chance. please log in to view this image Bonus buy: Dunne has immediately become one of Redknapp's key players after arriving on a free transfer âSo I took up the option of travelling to Philadelphia. The doctor opened me up and said, âNo problem, weâll have you fixed up in a few weeks.â âI thought, âHere we go again.â When I woke up he told me that I had two substantial pieces of muscle floating around that werenât attached to anything. âHe did fix it but he was used to treating American footballers and ice hockey players. He said to wait six weeks before I kicked footballs. âI went out after six weeks, kicked a ball and ruptured the whole lot. Back to America. Nightmare, disaster. The doctor was surprised but he filled the area with steroids and said, âRight, leave it.â âIt was February. I gave myself 12 weeks. My aim was to get fit for Ireland and prove I could earn a contract with someone.â please log in to view this image Back in favour: Dunne is back representing the Republic of Ireland after overcoming long-term injury problems All this time, Villa were struggling. Dunne, who worked himself closest to a recall on the day of the ill-fated Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Bradford City, broke down on the morning of that match. Rumours that he would not have played for Paul Lambert were not true. He has no axe to grind. Given that he had worked himself into a position where he could prove his fitness, he needed and wanted to play. âI was desperate to come back,â Dunne says. âI thought I was done. Over. Finished. Thatâs the way it was. Going in every single day and it wasnât getting better. I thought, âDo I really need this any more?â Then I started thinking, âWhat do I do?â âAs it was coming to an end, I realised I just wanted to play. It had been 15 months since I made a tackle. I wanted to get back involved. âWhen I started training in April I was with the youth lads. It was what I needed but I didnât really enjoy it. So when I went away with Ireland I felt like I was back after playing 25 minutes in a friendly. I realised how much I had missed it.â Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tness-Harry-Redknapps-side.html#ixzz2hk4i6Vjq Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Richard Dunne is our blessing in disguise this season. No one could of expected the impact he's made. I was expecting a decent solid signing, never knew he was this good! At this age exactly what we need, wouldn't mind us signing a couple more veterans in the January window. He has it all, the definition of "the right sort". Harry go this one spot on. And with a core of Green, Dunne, Barton and Austin I'm positive any setbacks will quickly be correced.
Great read, and goes to show what a no brainer signing he was. Really hope he gets the full season under his belt as he deserves every bit of success Keep up the excellent performances Dunney
I did feel when we signed him that it would be another player who was passed his best and taking a good payday until retirement He has been a fantastic signing and I think it is he's presence that has given Green his confidence back
Great read that thank you Hope his under carriage stays fit and strong as this is some record and I sense going into the Millwall game the lads will only want to extend this Let's all believe we get three clean sheets in the next three games ... I believe we could well do that
Great to hear true professionals that go through really tough times, and come out the other side. Wish him all the best, inspired signing by Harry. His staying fit will be a significant factor in whether we get promotion. Cant wait for Ned to regain fitness.
Still feel sorry for Kieron Dyer. Would have played well and given his all for the club. Why don't the likes of Boswanka have these problems?
What I picked up on was the clause in his contract which says that if his groin goes his contract would be terminated in 6 weeks. A sensible approach from the club to cover themselves, but in hindsight you feel for Dunne as he has obviously gone through the mill to get himself over a significant injury and back playing to a high standard, whereas we have had a number of sick notes on the books for years who have continued to take the wage whilst contributing very little. Please God he stays injury free tonight and for the rest of the season. From a selfish point of view we don't want to come out of the international break with another "man down" signal to Millwall and have to risk a young and inexperienced CB away from home. Positive thoughts though, positive thoughts.
A couple of weeks ago we were all going on about how we were a CB and a CF short, even after Chevanton. Was the deal on the Lithuanian CB done? This was meant to be a new thread, hit the wrong button, but it sits ok here.
TF tweeted a couple of weeks ago that 2 strikers were coming, in came the youngster followed by Chevanton. I presume they were the 2 he was talking about. The Lithuanian situation reminds me of Baird; when these things drag on they tend not to happen.
Top man dunne & thought if he could stay fit which he has we would have a great defender on our books regardless of his age, take note flyer.
4StringR, the way I read it I think he might have asked for the groin clause to be inserted in the contract. I can't begin to understand how frustrating it must be to have to undergo surgery after surgery and spend a year out, especially when your career is drawing to a close anyway.
Maybe, but there is being honorable and there is shooting yourself in the foot (groin!). I suspect it was a condition of the contract on the club's insistence as he had broken down so many times before getting the run out with the ROI. He obviously was honorable enough or desperate enough (who knows) to accept that clause to get a paid wage for the next few months. Has more than earned his keep so far, and hope he goes from strength to strength.
