Ferrie Bodde will start another Swans comeback today as he lines up against a former team mate at Neath

It's been a long two and a half years for the Swansea City midfielder with failed comebacks but now he - and the club - hope that he is back fitter than before and ready for a Premier League challenge.

And the latest comeback starts today when he will line up for the Swans against Neath in the first of two friendlies today - a seperate squad will play at Port Talbot three hours later.

And in the Neath ranks there will be some familiar faces lining up against Bodde - one of them being Kris O'Leary who made over 300 appearances for the Swans during his time at the club.

“It’s great that he can get back out there again,” O'Leary told the Western Mail

“And I’d love nothing more – like anyone else connected with Swansea – for him to come back to somewhere near his best because there’s no doubt he can be a massive player for the club like he has been before. Hopefully the knee and the muscles around it are strong again now and he can pick up where he left off.

“I’m not saying people should expect for him just to turn up in the first few games and be like the Ferrie of old.

“But if he does get back to those levels then Swansea will have a player who is just a different class – and they are the whispers I’m hearing from the training ground.

“And that is huge because a fit Ferrie Bodde – after being out for so long – will be like signing a brand new player. It could be like signing a £5m player.

“When he first signed he came with a big reputation and there was even talk of him being the Dutch Roy Keane,” said O’Leary, who will not face his old pal with Bodde in the squad to face Port Talbot at the GenQuip Stadium rather than the long-serving former Swan’s Neath at the Gnoll.

“Talk can be talk, but as soon as you saw him you could tell he was some player.

“His passing was something else and I think his appearances for Swansea justified some of the price tags that were being talked about.

“He had it all – goals, passing, aggression, and an ability to play in different roles across the midfield. People thought he was just a sitting midfielder but he could wander and go looking for the ball – and then his range of passing was just up there with the best around.

“It was a big loss to lose him through injury and the problems with the comebacks, but now he has taken his time and been looked after in the right way. The club have now got the right staff in to tell him what he needs to do, how he needs to do it and why.

“He hasn’t been rushed back this time when I’m sure there could have been the temptation to call him in towards the end of last year when he was back in training.

“But it was important for him to be both mentally and physically right to come back this time and now he has had that two or three months from last year and he can have a full pre-season to build up fitness at the same rate as the rest of the lads.

“Hopefully for the club and for Ferrie, it can pay off because I’m sure he will want to prove a point. Not just that, he can come back to where he was and after all the talk of him being a Premier League player, now he has the chance to show it.

“I’m looking forward to it and I’m sure the fans are ready to have a bit of a celebration at our place for the first time since the play-offs.

“I played against Swansea last year and it was strange having been there so long and I’m sure it will again.

“But it’s an important match for us in terms of our preparations – we have big ambitions for the season after making the step to full-time so hopefully it can be a good game.”

Photo: Action Images

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