"When I injured myself, I thought of the World Cup"
The first thing that came to the defender's mind, when he heard of his injury on August 14 of last year, was to recover in time for Brazil. On Sunday, he played the full 90 minutes for Nacional and now "it doesn't depend so much on me." -It was a long wait, but you are finally back. What would you highlight from your return?- I felt really good, luckily, being able to play after such a long time. It's also positive that the team won.
- How many months since the injury?- Seven and a half since my operation and until I played a full match agian. (last Sunday)
- Did you think it was going to be so serious?- Not really, because when I injured myself I didn't felt that much pain, and I was able to finish the match. Maybe later, yes, when I cooled down and I saw my knee had swollen I feared it could be what it ended up happening. I knew it was at least six months of recovery, and that sometimes it took longer.
- What did you think all this time? When I had the studies done and they told me what it was, I immediately thought of starting the recovery process, counting the months it could take and, of course, the World Cup.
- Did you inform yourself of the type of injury with the doctors, or the internet?- This is a very common injury among footballers. In Liverpool, my friend Lucas Leiva had the same injury, so I had the experience of seeing him and his recovery.
- What's the most difficult part of not playing for such a long time?- Above all it's your mind, feeling fit to play but having to accept what the doctors tell you.
- There comes a time you just want to enter the pitch.- Logically, I wanted to play, to train with my team, to help them, but sometimes the doctors have the last word.
- Looking at Liverpool's current form, and imagining you had never been injured, do you think you could have had a place in the team?- I don't know, it's not something anyone could guess.
- Did you think of the World Cup while recovering?- I always thought it was one of the goals of my recovery, the possibility of going to the World Cup. As you recover and feel better, you start worrying about finishing it (the recovery) and being in the best match fitness, and not so much about the World Cup.
- Returning now means you might have the time for it.- Yes, now it's closer than ever. It doesn't depend so much on me but on being physically fit. We'll see about football later.
- What percentage of your recovery process are you in?- I don't know about percentages, I just felt very good. It took me a while to get the rythm of the game, of the ball, but afterwards I loosened myself and I was glad to complete the 90 minutes, which was very important for me.
- Journalists and fans are praising your performance...- It's nice to hear praises, but you also don't have to pay much attention to them, and focus instead on the next game.
- And the derby? (between Nacional and Peñarol)- Of course, but first comes the match with Cerro Largo.
- Ending the team's negative streak was a good thing. - We knew it was the last chance, we had to win and fortunately we did, especially against a good team like Defensor.*
(*) Translator's note: Defensor is the only Uruguayan team left in the Libertadores Cup at present time. Instead of signing expensive old players, they go for promoting players from their academy.
