Johnson ready to make Robinson peace

Last updated : 06 December 2006 By Danny Deeming
Damien Johnson insists he bears "no ill feeling" towards West Brom defender Paul Robinson over the challenge which left him with a broken jaw.Birmingham skipper Johnson suffered the setback six weeks ago in a Championship derby at St Andrews after a touch-line collision with Robinson. The Baggies player was sent off for violent conduct and served a three-game ban. Birmingham boss Steve Bruce claimed Robinson's actions were deliberate and was fuming when the Football Association took no further action against the left-back. But Johnson, 28, does not believe Robinson had any preconceived plan to injure him and is prepared to shake his hand when the two clubs clash again in late March.
Johnson said: "The gaffer wasn't happy about what happened and I've seen bits and pieces of what he has said. As far as I'm concerned it's gone now. I bear no ill feeling to Paul Robinson, these things happen in football. He puts himself about, I put myself about. I don't think anyone deliberately goes out to hurt another professional, and I'd guess it would be pretty difficult to set out to break someone's jaw. The gaffer has said what he has said and a few other people have similarly told me what they thought about it. But for me it happened, it's gone and I'm on the mend. The last six weeks I've been fine, I've not sat there and gone over and over it and become bitter. When we play them next and if I'm involved, I wouldn't have a problem shaking his hand."
Johnson, who last week signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract, plans to return to full training at the weekend and is hoping to return to first-team action by Christmas.
He said: "The injury hasn't been a conventional one. I have carried on a training regime without any contact work. I have been having one-to-one sessions with our fitness coach (Dan Harris) and he has been great at keeping me going. Hopefully I will be able to join in fully from Saturday - six weeks since it happened - and then maybe get in a reserve game or two. I expect to be back for Christmas and the way the team is playing, I will face a challenge to get in - and that's good."