The past nine months have been injury hell for Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal.
Undoubtably one of the club’s leading players, the 25-year-old ruptured his ACL in training last March. On top of missing many months of the domestic season, the injury also ruled him out of appearing for Spain at the World Cup in Qatar.
However, he made his return to football action in the club’s 2-0 victory over Osasuna yesterday, appearing as a substitute late on. Speaking after the match on his comeback, as per Marca, Oyarzabal admitted that the rehabilitation process was not as bad as first expected.
“It has been a beautiful process, in which I have learned many things. I would tell those who suffer from this injury to take it the same way that I did.
“The day I that got injured, I didn’t want anything, I wanted to forget everything. But two or three hours after getting injured I knew what I had to do, what was going to happen and my mentality was to go back to who I was, and if I could be better.”
Despite having coped very well so far this season without Oyarzabal, La Real will be delighted to welcome him back as they aim for Champions League football next season. Yesterday’s win over Osasuna cemented the club’s place in third, meaning that they are in the driving seat in the race for the top four.
