Denis Suarez has revealed he was injured from the second week of his Arsenal loan spell, admitting his frustration at not being able to contribute with the club.
Suarez joined Arsenal on loan from Barcelona in the January transfer window, with an option to buy at the end of the season. However, there was no chance the Gunners were going to take up that option after the midfielder played just 95 minutes across six appearances in half a season.
The reason for the extreme scarcity of minutes for the loanee was an injury he picked up early on in his Arsenal career. Speaking with Goal, Suarez explained how it all happened.
“I made my debut against Manchester City but in our first away game I got injured,” Suarez said. “I thought I had ruptured my adductor because I could barely put weight on the leg or move it.
“The scan showed it was not ruptured, but rather that I had a huge build-up of fluid on my pelvic bone and from there I could not take a single step without feeling pain.
“I carried on training because I didn’t want to stop in my second week after arriving but I couldn’t do it because I was never at 100 percent, not even 50. I couldn’t even take a shot at goal.
“It is more frustrating to not play because of injury. Just imagine going to a club that had called you a month before, with all the hope in the world and not being able to do anything from the second week onward apart from trying to train with huge pain.”
Suarez ended up going back to Barcelona before the season was even over, as he focused on his recovery. The 25-year-old then moved to Celta de Vigo over the summer on a permanent deal, where he’s made 12 appearances so far.
There doesn’t appear to be any injury hangover from last season, as Suarez has started all 12 of those matches and completed over an hour in each one of them.
Playing out on the left-hand side, Suarez has one goal and one assist so far, whilst he’s also completed more dribbles than anyone else in the division this season. We wish him well for an injury-free campaign in Spain.