Luis Suarez Opens Up On His Injury Concern
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has admitted that he was worried that his knee injury in August would derail his long-term prospects with the Catalan giants. The Uruguay international suffered the problem during the Super Cup defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, and he struggled to recapture his form on his return to the starting lineup.
Speaking to La Vangardia, the former Liverpool man insisted that he was concerned by his situation, but he is thankful that he has managed to make a complete recovery whilst finding his scoring touch, he said: "It worried me a lot. Much more than the goals, because I’ve been on streaks where I haven’t scored before. I feared the injury might affect me psychologically, too.My attitude wasn’t the same, nor my intensity. I was in pain, even though I didn’t say I was in pain. Taking that break was important for me. Since November, I’ve been spectacular. I was able to rest, recover and sort myself out psychologically."
There had been plenty of suggestions that Suarez's time at Camp Nou would be coming to end, but the 31-year-old has returned to his old self, and he has contributed 10 goals in his last 10 appearances for the club. Barcelona are deemed clear favourites to regain the La Liga crown this campaign, and the club will surely be eyeing further honours in both domestic and Europe.
Meanwhile, the club has received positive news on the injury front with Gerard Pique having gone unscathed despite appearing to suffering a knee injury during the 1-1 draw versus Espanyol last weekend. The Spain international has already begun training with his teammates and he is expected to feature in the Copa del Rey second-leg versus Valencia.
Barcelona face-off against Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 first-leg in a fortnight's time, and manager Ernesto Valverde will be aiming to keep his players in the best of shape as they cannot take anything for granted against one of England's elite clubs.