Imanol Agirretxe has reflected on his ‘very special’ comeback from injury and on Real Sociedad once more beating upcoming opponents Malaga.
During La Real’s 2-0 defeat in the Champions League at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, they welcomed back their second top scored from last season after a month out with a thigh injury.
Welcomed back with a standing ovation, the striker has thanked fans today.
“Without doubt to be able to play was great and to do so with that applause was like gasoline and an extra motivation,” Agirretxe told reporters today.
“I am glad to have returned to playing again and am eager to continue and to contribute to the team.
“It was very special too for me to be able to play in this tournament, for all that it is, in the Champions League and at Anoeta more so.
“I felt good. The game was a bit broken up but I felt good physically. Seeing how the game went, I cannot say that the emotions were good at the end, but physically I was happy.
“It is clear that I am now available for selection and I will train hard to play.”
La Real this weekend face a test at home to Malaga in La Liga as they look to bounce back from the disappointment against Shakhtar.
“We are preparing for the match against Malaga, we have to forget what happened because to think about it would be a mistake.
“We need to analyse what went right and wrong, but only for Malaga and Malaga. We have to play 100 per cent and try to win.
“[Last year] we beat them during a difficult moment and it was the breath that we needed to pull ourselves up and then when we played them at Anoeta we were at a high level.
“I hope that we can repeat this. Malaga has changed, but the important thing is that we are all well and play to our potential.
“Can we handle three competitions this year? For now we are well, we have far to go. We are not used to playing so many games, but the team is responding and hopefully we will do well and the results will return.”
