TYLER Adams says he “kind of enjoyed” the recent spell out of the spotlight, describing his time out injured as being like a “fall off a cliff” and becoming “irrelevant”.

Adams last week made his first Premier League appearance in more than a year, coming off the bench to help Cherries close out a 4-3 win over Luton Town.

The USA international has had a wretched time with injury, undergoing two hamstring surgeries, either side of his £23million move to Cherries from Leeds United last summer.

But the 25-year-old is now fit again and has linked up with his country for their CONCACAF Nations League semi-final against Jamaica this Thursday (11pm UK time).

Speaking to reporters in America, Adams said: “There was never a doubt in my mind that the moment will come.

“Anyone that knows me know that I do a lot of my work behind the scenes. I go about my business in the right way.

“I’ve been continuously working non-stop in the past months to make sure that this time would come.

“I’m not sure if anyone thought it would come this soon, but I was continuously just pushing myself and making sure that I was hitting my objectives in a smart way, not rushing the process, making sure I was hitting all my benchmarks.

“Now, here I am.”

He continued: “The rehab process was a long one and an enduring one. You learn a lot about yourself in those tough moments, because, in those moments, there are no headlines about you.

“There are no people talking about you anymore.

“All of a sudden, you like fall off a cliff and you’re kind of irrelevant in that moment.

“For me, I kind of enjoyed that, if I’m being completely honest with you.

“After such a whirlwind of a season, after the World Cup, after everything, my world kind of flipped upside down for a brief moment.

“Being injured, I just had a moment to regroup.”

Bournemouth Echo: Tyler Adams is on international duty with USA

During his spell out of the spotlight, Adams became a father, his girlfriend Sarah giving birth to a baby boy in January.

“There’s never a good time to be injured,” said the former RB Leipzig midfielder.

“But to be able to have this opportunity to become a dad in this moment and not have to think about the stresses of the game, going away and missing things or not being there possibly for the birth, just being very relaxed in all those moments and being able to support my amazing girlfriend throughout that all has been a huge blessing in disguise.

“It’s really the best thing that’s happened to me.”

Now, Adams’s focus turns to his return to international action, with Cherries head coach Andoni Iraola believing it is “a good thing for everyone” if he can get some minutes with USA.

“I was talking to Gregg (Berhalter, USMNT head coach), all along and we were deciding whether I would just come into camp and be around the guys and continue my fitness and training, or if I felt I could play a role on the active roster, Adams explained.

“I think for these games, I’m still probably minute-capped a little bit, but I know I can contribute 45 to 60 minutes.”