Carles Puyol said he was satisfied with his comeback from injury at the weekend but it had been his worst experience on the sidelines.
The Barcelona captain reappeared in the 3-1 defeat of Real Zaragoza after suffering an elbow injury in a Champions League game against Benfica at the beginning of October, but declared it had been hard work to have got himself back to full fitness.
“I’m happy to have come back with a win and also to get back the feel for the game,” he told Barca TV’s El Marcador programme.
“This has been my worst experience with an injury. It is incredibly painful and I never thought it would be like this.
“The only positive thing is that it was an arm and allowed me to do physical activity fairly quickly. Now I just have to improve my mobility and strength a bit.”
Puyol accepted that the way his injury came about, the way in which he jumped for the ball, was partially his own fault.
“You can’t think about what happened, whether you should jump to head the ball or tackle. It’s better to leave things the way they are. I always try to help the team and it was just bad luck.”
He also said he was very happy with the manner of Tito Vilanova’s team’s progression this season.
“We have to carry on like this and not let up. We must improve our defence a touch but we’re working on it,” he added.
