It happened on November 19 in Valladolid. And opposite was also Georgia. With barely 20 minutes of the game played, Gavi went to the ground. He was going to receive a ball at the edge of the area and Lochosvili He went to pressure him. He went on top of him and the Los Palacios player’s leg was stuck in the grass. A bad gesture, a bad turn, a click and a lot of pain. Gavi thrashed around on the floor, but his extreme hardness helped him get up. In a first exploration nothing was seen. It just seems like a scare. Looks like he can keep going. Seems. Because Gavi returned to the field of play, but it didn’t take long for him to fall again. He looked for contact with the ball and reality sent him the second and final warning: I couldn’t continue.
Gavi continues his recovery process
He didn’t know it yet, but He had a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and an injury associated with the external meniscus. He wouldn’t play again all season. In fact, more than seven months later he still hasn’t. A tough period in which Spain’s ‘9’ is working silently to return with full guarantees. Slowly but surely. Without deadlines, but with enthusiasm. With the conviction of not rushing so that this young veteran, who will turn 20 in August, returns to the path that leads him to be what he promises.
Gavi’s pain on the grass.BRAND
A desolate locker room
“I was broken, destroyed. He didn’t understand that this could happen to him. We believe that we are invulnerable and that is not the case. At half-time the locker room looked like a wake. the life have this things. It is the hardest and bitterest moment I have experienced in football“. They are the words of Luis de la Fuente after the fateful game against Georgia. The story of Gavi’s drama, but also of the rest of his companions. Those who saw in his face the rawness of a long-term injury that would be confirmed hours later.
You already know the energy he has, so I’m sure he comes back as good as possible.
That night he was one of the two players who repeated in the eleven after the game against Cyprus. “He is hyperactive, he never stops, that’s why he plays so much and so well. Good players never rest. He is physically gifted“, De la Fuente said in the preview. He had plenty of energy, but he lacked fortune.
An extra motivation
Georgia crosses the path of Spain again. Seven months after that bitter 3-1 in Zorrilla, the team has the opportunity to give a victory to its teammate. Coincidences of life, the match comes when the footballer faces the final stretch of his recovery. “The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow“, he published a few days ago on his social networks along with a photograph where he was seen smiling and working on the grass.
We miss Gavi
One way or another, Gavi is also among the 26 of this Euro Cup. He texts with his colleagues and they keep him in mind. “He suffered a very bad injury. He had a very bad time. I wrote to him to see how he was doing. He is a very tough boy who has things very clear. You already know the energy he has, so I’m sure he comes back as good as possible.“, he assures Nico Williams. That night was special for Robin Le Normand, who scored his first goal with the national team. “The feeling was spectacular, but then we lost Gavi and it was hard. I send you a hug because we miss you“, he recalled on Radio MARCA.
A capital irruption
Luis Enrique made Gavi debut in the senior team with 17 years, two months and one day. Being a minor, the player proved to be more than prepared. Since then, 27 international matches and five goals. Games like his debut against Italy remain to be remembered, where he presented himself to everyone as the all-round, aggressive and supportive player that he is.
Gavi regrets his injury on the Zorrilla pitch.BRAND
The current national team knows him well. Pablo Amo he had it in the sub18 and Luis de la Fuente I had been following him for a long time as a potential U21 player, but that moment did not come because Gavi made the jump directly to the senior team. In the previous press conference, the coach also had a message for him: “This is his house. He hasn’t been able to come, but he is with us. I hope he can come to one of the games.”
