Almost a year and a half after a serious injury (broken ligaments in his knee) that forced him to undergo surgery twice in the first leg of the promotion promotion against Portugalete, the 36-year-old from Salta returns to smile. Sunday had the first minutes since that May 25, 2019, in the friendly against Espanyol B. Pitu has returned. And it does so with the usual ambition in a year marked by the covid-19.
When he arrived on the field on Sunday did he know it would be the day of his return, who would play again?
Yes I knew it. I found out half a week later, after talking to Oriol (Alsina). We started the preseason and due to some discomfort in the twin I had to stop. It had been two weeks now that I was fine. I was waiting for what day I would play again and it was Sunday. We had talked about it would take about twenty minutes, just the way it was.
What did Oriol Alsina tell you?
He told me that since Espanyol B was an important friendly he was counting on me to make me play for a while. I no longer had any discomfort. The long-awaited moment had come. My intention would have already been to play the Estany tournament and the friendly against Figueres, but the discomfort in the twin, which had nothing to do with the serious injury that had taken me away from the fields, did not go away. to allow. On the day of the match Oriol was very happy, like me. Just before entering the field, in the technical area, he gave me a hug, congratulated me and jumped to play. Oriol and I understand each other with a simple glance.
How much rope do you have left?
My intention was to recover from the injury, play again and, once that was achieved, during the season, see if I had recovered to the level before or not. If I am fit to compete I will keep playing. If not I will be the first to step aside. The intention is to keep competing. I considered retiring due to injury and age, but as the days went by family, club and friends helped me a lot mentally. Everyone told me I couldn’t fold that way and so I immediately made it clear that I wanted to retire on the field, and not in an operating room. That’s why I tried to recover well.
He admitted that the withdrawal had been considered. At what time?
Just after the injury, those first two days, when you can’t move your leg from the harm it does to you, when they haven’t resonated yet to know what you have, and you can’t sleep. Those were horrible days. Then you find out that you have a ruptured cruciate ligament, but also the torn internal and external meniscus. The doctor told me that it would take at least a year to be recovered. When you feel this the world falls on you and you think there is nothing to do. But then, once operated on, everything gets better. The psychological support of family and friends was key to moving forward. You immediately see that things can only get better, you want to recover … and I no longer thought about retirement.
What has been the worst thing about a year and a half without playing?
Seeing that after the first operation the leg was not going, he could not bend it, because he had made many adhesions to the knee. I had to have surgery again and then it was all shot. Seeing teammates how they play every week and train every day, and not being able to be with them, wasn’t easy either. I’ve been getting up all my life to go train and I’ve missed it a lot.
What have you done during this time away from football? How was your day to day life during the recovery process?
I have worked hard. I got up and went to train doing a recovery session, and in the afternoons I continued in a center in Girona. That was for two or three months. Then as it just didn’t work I had surgery again and the thing was already much better. In the morning I was still recovering in Llagostera and in the afternoon the doctor who operated on me, Jordi Puigdellívol, opened the doors for me to recover in the Ciutat Esportiva del Barça. Did you find it hard to watch football on TV?
I’ve kept watching football. I watched the promotion match against Portugalete with a tablet, from the hospital, just operated on. I’ve watched them all watch the Llagostera matches, I follow everything I can from Segona B, and, of course, also Barça, Girona …
Without confinement could he have reappeared late last season?
I think it could have reappeared in May. In early March I was at that point doing field work. It was a matter of days. And the confinement came, on March 14th. The good part is that I had more time to get my knee back. Without confinement the last three or four games could have been played. It helped that the fitness trainer was sending us exercises to do at home. Then, when he could go out to play sports, he would run through the Salt meadows.
Do you like the new Second B competition system? What should Llagostera aspire to?
I don’t know if I like it, what I do know is that it will be very demanding and different from other years. If you start badly you will have a lot to lose, no time to recover. The first phase is very short and the Catalan group, plus Andorra, is very strong. We will have to adapt. It will be key, as always, to make us strong at home.
Is there fear in the locker room for the effects of the coronavirus? In Second B there are no mandatory PCRs before matches …
We, in Second B, have always considered ourselves professionals. We all live from that. We are now working from the AFE to be able to reach a collective agreement that also considers us. It is true that in Second B PCRs are not mandatory, and while there is no fear in the locker room, there is the logical concern for everything that happens in the country. We when we arrive at the field are meticulous to the maximum with our protocol, measure the temperature, use the mask even in the locker room, the distance … We know that if there was a new confinement it could be very hard for us.
Are you excited to start the season with a title?
We would be very excited to win the Copa Catalunya on Friday. So far we had played against Tercera rivals such as Peralada, Figueres and Banyoles, with good feelings, and on Sunday it was a test of fire over the duel with Espanyol B, in our category. We competed well. We reached the final in good shape, although L’Hospitalet, which is also in Second B, will not be easy.
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