Álvaro Morata’s Remarkable Return from Injury: A Testament to His Determination and Resilience

Minute 54, Inter-Atlético, the assistant raises the sign announcing a change. Number 8 must come out. The 19th is going to enter. That number belongs to Álvaro Morata (Madrid, 1992; 32 years old) just nine days after suffering an injury to the ligament in his right knee in the Sevilla-Atlético de Liga match. He left that game crying, with his face covered with his shirt to hide the terror that he felt at that moment. That that strange thing in the air that his knee had caused in a collision with Soumaré was not a cruciate tear. When he left the Pizjuán he made it calmer. The drawer test, negative. The feeling that the injury was not as serious as he initially imagined. The next day the tests declared it. Sprain. That same night, Morata took a calendar at his house to count the days left for Inter-Atlético and the double and triple sessions that he could schedule throughout them to try to get there.

The day before the trip to Milan, which was also the day after Atlético-Las Palmas in which she was absent, was the surprise of Atlético’s training, with a part with the group with intensity and goals. Morata shattered the forecasts that dated his return in two or three weeks, his absence fixed him in the first leg of the round of 16 and almost certainly in the second leg as well. Morata traveled and not to make a big deal. The initial starter was Llorente up front but in the 54th minute, shortly after returning from the break, Cholo’s movement was clear: Morata for Saúl. Playing at San Siro was more than special for him.

73.6% of the minutes are 23-24

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Last summer, before a talk with Simeone and Gustavo López, his assistant for dialogue and left hand with the players, on the tour, destroyed any possibility of leaving the red and white club, his name was cherished as the great desire to all the greats of Serie A. Roma, Juventus, Milan and Inter called their representative, Juanma López, to ask about their price. Especially the last one, that rival with whom the ball in the draw for the Champions League round of 16 matched him. “Yes, it is true that he was close. I have a very good relationship with the coach and with Marotta, who had already signed me for Juve. Luckily, I had quite a few options, but when I spoke with Simeone the best decision was to stay at Atlético,” he confessed in an interview with AS in December, upon receiving the AS Sports Award 2024 for the Nations League won with the National Team.

Returning to Atlético in 22-23, coming precisely from Italy, where his time at Juventus (a season that ended with 20 goals and 11 assists, his record) had made him one of the most sought-after footballers in Serie A Valued, loved and respected by the referees. If the possibility of returning to the transalpine country materialized in his head when he glimpsed Cholo’s preference for Memphis and not him in the attacking duo with Griezmann at Atleti last summer, that talk in Korea stopped him. Today he has played 73.6% of the minutes and has already scored 19 goals. He has only missed 8.1% due to injury (32.4% is the absence of Giménez in 23-24 for example). The last sprain. Now available for Cholo. And the group. For everything that comes.

2024-02-22 11:09:47
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