Injuries in football are common but for some of them its devastating. Santi Cazorla 34-yr old Spanish midfielder has been under the knife for about 11 times in two years. No one believed that he could play again but the best part is he returned to the National team after a gap of 1302 days to play against the Faroe Islands in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers where he captained the team in the second half of the match as Sergio Ramos (captain) left the field.
Injury history:
It all began in the year 2013, where he was playing for his National team (Spain) against Chile in an international friendly match and got kicked by his opponent in his right ankle which caused a fissure in his bone but managed to play the 90 minutes. The pain continued after that. In December 2015, he ruptured the left knee ligament and undergone surgery in his left knee. After rest, he came to training but the old ankle was still causing a lot of problems to him. In 2016, when he was for Arsenal in the Champions League match against Ludogorets he couldn’t bear the pain further and got subbed straight away. On consulting with the doctors, they found out that there was an infection in his right ankle which keeps spreading and the bacteria ate about 8cm of his Achilles tendon. Arsene Wenger the head coach of Arsenal at that time when asked about Santi he said”
I have been in touch with Santi throughout his rehab, and it has been extremely tough and testing for him. If there is one guy who loves football passionately, loves to be on the pitch and comes in with a smile every day when he is fit, it’s Santi Cazorla, so you know he suffers a lot not to be out there with the ball at his feet.
“He is extremely strong and brave, and behind his smile is a strength you would not guess. He is a very strong character, and everyone at Arsenal wishes him well and we hope to have him back soon.”
After series of surgeries doctors couldn’t stop the infection and they even thought to remove his leg to avoid the infection from being spread to other parts of his body Through persistent efforts of doctors they finally cured his ankle after 10 surgeries.
He now has skin from his right arm – which has a tattoo of his daughter’s name on it – grafted on to the affected area of his foot. His passion and love for the game made him to fight all the odds to play again .
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