Rocky Bushiri big interview: Derby injury, Hibs comeback, and Congo DR decision

Rocky Bushiri knew from the moment Cammy Devlin landed awkwardly on his leg as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the closing stages of Hearts’ 3-0 Scottish Cup victory over Hibs in January that it wasn’t good news.
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The defender received treatment before being stretchered off and hasn’t featured for the Easter Road side since, with scans revealing a complex ankle injury. His recovery and rehabilitation has gone well and all being well, he will be in contention for the remaining five matches of the season as Lee Johnson’s side chase European qualification. But having battled back from a long-term injury before he joined Hibs, and having missed a handful of games earlier in the season with a knock, the 23-year-old is well-versed in the recovery process

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I knew 100 per cent, straight away when it happened. The way he fell on my ankle, I knew immediately it wasn’t good,” he tells the Evening News in an exclusive interview. Not that the experience will force him to alter the way he plays the game, however.

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"My injuries have all been contact injuries, or from duels, so it just shows that I don’t hold back, I always go full when I can,” he continues. “The manager knows me well and I don’t really need someone to help me keep my mind in a good place – I have experience with these things so I know for myself what’s in front of me, and what I need to do to come back stronger. Everybody on the team phoned me or texted me that day and that was nice.”

Rocky Bushiri is eager to have an impact in the final five games of the seasonRocky Bushiri is eager to have an impact in the final five games of the season
Rocky Bushiri is eager to have an impact in the final five games of the season

Team spirit

Such is the close-knit nature of the Hibs dressing room, perhaps since efforts were made to rid the club of the malaise as Johnson called it, that Bushiri has also travelled with the squad to games recently, both at home games and on the road.

"I always respect my injuries, and we follow the process fully,” he says. “It was so hard to see when Hibs were struggling and I couldn’t play but I know myself how I can help the team so I was travelling with them everywhere, and I’m close with the boys so when they were playing home games I was still trying to be there for them outside the pitch.”

There are five games left of the 2022/23 season and Bushiri is hopeful of playing a part in helping Hibs qualify for Europe on the pitch, as well as remaining a key member of the squad off it as well. Like Jimmy Jeggo, he experienced the split in Belgium earlier in his career, and knows the rewards a top-half finish can bring.

The Belgian-born centre-back has made 14 appearances this seasonThe Belgian-born centre-back has made 14 appearances this season
The Belgian-born centre-back has made 14 appearances this season
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"Yes, yes, yes. It’s already so important that we made the top six,” he says. “I’m going to be back, I’m going to be back very soon, and I hope I can be as important as I was for the team before.”

Changing his spots

Bushiri represented Belgium, the country of his birth, at underage level and indeed his appearances for the Red Devils Under-21 side meant Shaun Maloney was aware of the centre-back’s abilities before he brought him to Easter Road in January last year. But despite hinting in the first half of the season that he hadn’t completely given up on his hopes of representing Belgium as a full internationalist, Bushiri has pledged his allegiance to Congo DR – and might have made his debut in the recent Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Mauritania, were it not for his injury lay-off.

But with the next Group I qualifier in June against Gabon, likely at the Stade Omar Bongo in Libreville, Bushiri could very well make his debut for the Leopards as they look to increase their chances of qualification to next year’s tournament. They are currently bottom of the group, having lost out narrowly to Gabon in the first encounter at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, lost 2-1 to Sudan in Omdurman, and taken four points from their two matches against Mauritania. The group is on a knife-edge and with only the top two advancing, Congo DR could really do with two wins when they face Gabon in June and Sudan in September.

Bushiri hopes to add to his 14 league appearances so far this termBushiri hopes to add to his 14 league appearances so far this term
Bushiri hopes to add to his 14 league appearances so far this term

“A few months ago I got a call from the head coach of the national team [Frenchman Sébastien Desabre, whose last club posting was with Chamois Niortais in Ligue 2] and he explained to me how the new project would work. He’s under contract until 2026 and he told me about the plans for African teams in the upcoming World Cup, and in the next Africa Cup of Nations, and the direction in which he wants to go and which other players he’s hoping to attract to play for Congo DR.

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“I still have a good relationship with the country; my grandad [Albert Kisonga] was ambassador to Belgium, so I made the decision. I spoke with the gaffer here at Hibs, and with my family, and then I took the decision to go for it. I still have a few uncles and aunties in Congo.

"It was frustrating not to be able to make my debut during the last international break but you don’t choose these things; it’s just part of football and now in the summer, against Gabon, it will be even better. It’s away though so I’m not sure about my family travelling to it. But it will be a special day.”

Bushiri hopes to make his debut in the Gabonese capital come June 12 but knows nothing is certain. All that he’s focused on, for the time being at least, is Hibs. Everything else will take care of itself.

Bushiri returned to training earlier this month at HTCBushiri returned to training earlier this month at HTC
Bushiri returned to training earlier this month at HTC

"It’s hard for a head coach to guarantee you anything in football,” he explains. “There are games to play for Hibs and goals to reach. All that matters at the moment is how many games I play and how I perform.”

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