Real Betis will be delighted that Ayoze Perez will make his return to action this weekend against Atletico Madrid. The 30-year-old has been unavailable since the 13th of January, when he picked up an ankle injury during the match with Granada at the Benito Villamarin.
It’s been a tough six weeks for Ayoze, and his feelings towards Bruno Mendez, who was the who that inflicted the injury upon him, have yet to subside. As he told Radio MARCA Sevilla (via Marca), he’s very unhappy that the Granada man was able to play on while he was left stricken for this period.
“A senseless tackle that has kept me out for almost two months and he has kept playing without penalty. It was a bit annoying because the entrance was the way it was. It was such a nonsensical tackle and I’ve had to deal with many weeks of recovery, pain and such. But it’s part of this sport and it’s almost over.”
Ayoze also addressed Betis’ continual poor performances in Europe, which was the case against this season as they crashed out of the Europa League pre-Christmas, before doing so in the Europa Conference League earlier this month.
“When it comes down to it, the team hasn’t been up to the task, they haven’t been up to the task. You can look more individually, more collectively, but above all you have to compete and the team struggles to stay at that competitive level throughout the game. We’ve paid for that more than anything else. In this competition, you must have a competitive spirit throughout the tie. We were left at the gates. It is a pity.”
Ayoze’s return should allow Real Betis to hit top form again, as they have struggled (especially for goals) during his absence.
