When Bolton's star winger broke his leg in a pre-season friend some 18 months ago, many Wanderers fans wondered if he would ever be the same player again. Prior to the rash challenge that put him out for nearly a full season, Chung-Yong Lee was famous for scampering down Bolton's right wing and cutting in sharply to create a goal either for himself or another man in white.
Upon Chungy's return from the injury at the tail end of last season though, it became increasingly clear that the winger would need some time in order to return to his former glory. We've been told before that the greatest roadblock in a return from injury would be building the confidence to take tackles again. When you take that one hard challenge and you come out unscathed, that's when you know you can trust your body again.
Chung-Yong Lee has been growing in confidence this season and has shown it with increasing the class of his performance by leaps and bounds. Speaking to the Bolton News a few days ago, Chungy made that clear:
"It feels good to be back and I am really enjoying playing regular football.
"When I originally made my first-team return it took me some time to get up to the speed of the game.
"Now that there is no more pain in my leg from the injury, I feel that I can be getting better and better with every game I play.
"The more games I play the more confident I feel and I believe that I can continue to develop and reach higher levels than before my injury."
He added:
"It was a very difficult time not only in my career, but also my life. It has been really difficult to be away from football for such a long time.
"Personally, it was a very hard time for me as I was unable to do what I love. But that time has gone and I am now just looking forward.
"I just try to forget about that whole injury.
"It was an unfortunate part of my career and it was a challenging period for me, but now I am determined to just concentrate on getting better and continuing to improve my game now that I am back fit and playing regularly."
Finally, a bit of a fun fact. Chungy is a Pro Evolution Soccer man, not a FIFA man. He doesn't need your fancy Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 though:
"I used to play games with Park a lot when he was at Manchester United.
"We didn't play FIFA though, it was a football game called Winning Eleven on the PS2.
"He was very good. We don't play as much since he moved to QPR.
"Last season also I would play a lot with Ryo Miyaichi and always I would win!