The Valencia captain remembers the injury that prevented him from being in Qatar: “It was difficult to recover, but it has made me stronger”
MADRID, 22 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The side of Valencia and the Spanish team, José Luis Gayà, addressed this Wednesday the sprained ankle that forced him to leave the concentration in Qatar before the start of the 2022 World Cup, something from which it was “difficult to recover” emotionally, but that made him ” stronger”, so he expects to have an “important” role in this “new stage” with the national team.
“I really wanted to come back after what happened at the last training camp and the World Cup. I’m looking forward to playing these two games -against Norway and Scotland, qualifying for Euro 2024- and starting this new stage”, Gayà acknowledged. in a video shared by the official media of the selection on their social media profiles.
The full-back recalled when, in a training session prior to the premiere of ‘La Roja’ in Qatar, he slipped when placing a cross and his foot fell off. “He knew it was going to be a sprain, he needed to know the seriousness of the matter,” said the player, who suffered a low-grade sprain days before Spain’s debut.
“It was difficult to recover (emotionally), but I think it has made me stronger as a person and as a player. What happened to me I will remember all my life, but I cannot change it. I tried everything, it was a fortuitous action and it was decided not to I will continue. Football gives revenge and I will try to fight to continue coming (to the national team) and achieve great things”, said an optimistic Gayà.
In this new stage, he hopes that his role with the new coach, Luis de la Fuente, will be “important, whether he plays or not.” “We should all face this like a dream, living each game as if it were the last,” he said.
“De la Fuente is very close to the player and that is appreciated, he tells you things clearly. He is very humble, he knows where he comes from and where he wants to go. In the Under-21s he has done great things, now we all have to be one to do great things for us”, he concluded about the objectives of the senior team.