Merino on his scary injury, and repaying the love | Interview | News

After returning to training for the first time in five months, an excited Mikel Merino admitted that he’s determined to repay the love he’s received from his teammates in the final couple of games this term.

Our Spanish midfielder has been out of action since fracturing his foot in January and was forced to undergo surgery to address the issue before a lengthy rehab program to get him back in contention for a first-team return.

But having put in the graft at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, Mikel feels as good as new and hopes to see some gametime either in our Premier League title-winning party at Crystal Palace on Sunday or even in the Champions League final the following week.

Reflecting on his return, he smiled: “This morning I woke up and I was feeling like it was the first day of school! Going there nervous, seeing all my teammates and being around them for the first time, it’s just unbelievable to get all that love from them.

“My foot is great, I’m not even thinking about it anymore. I’m really pleased to be outside with the lads today. I’ve been training really hard, not only on the grass but also inside with the strength and conditioning team and the physios, trying to give everything every single day to be as close to perfection when I’m back with the team. I think I’m very good, I feel fit and I’m ready to go.”

Like any other player who is forced to spend a lengthy period of time on the sidelines after a major injury, Mikel admits that he’s been battling a range of emotions, but even more so given the unusual nature of his particular issue. It stumped specialists, and gave him concern that his time out could have been even longer, with thoughts that it could seriously affect, or even end, his career creeping into his consciousness.

But Mikel’s positivity won through, and with the goal in mind to secure a spot in Spain’s World Cup squad as well as help us claim some silverware, he is proud to have worked his way back before the season’s end, and put both the physical and mental pain behind him.

“It was a stress fracture in a very strange part of the foot that not even the specialists had seen before,” he explained. “It was a weird one at the beginning, I was a little bit scared because we didn’t have examples from other people who had the same injury, so we didn’t know what to expect from it, what path to go through during the recovery and if I was going to be able to play again.

“It was very hard at the beginning. I was playing through pain for a little bit but I wasn’t expecting that a big fracture was going to happen there. So when they said it would be around a five-month injury, I could only think about missing the World Cup and the last bit of the season with my team, and not being able to help them, so I was devastated at the time.

“It took me a couple of days to recover from it, but looking at it, I had two options: go down and cry myself to extinction or just keep my head up, be positive and try to use my time to improve other aspects. Working as hard as I can is the way I have to approach life.”

What has helped get Mikel through this tough period is the support from his teammates. A popular member of the group, he revealed he didn’t want to be a stranger and focus solely on his own rehab; he wanted to be a part of the group and do what he could to help our title push.

As he has shown so often during his time in N5, he now hopes that he has one big moment left in him this season, having been desperate to help on the pitch while being tucked up in the Emirates Stadium stands, cheering us on as we ultimately got over the line to earn him a Premier League winner’s medal.

On the backing he has received from all aspects of the club, Mikel added: “I felt very loved. I wanted to be around the team and give them my support, even though I was injured. Sometimes as a player you can be a little selfish, do your own thing and only focus on your recovery, but you also have a road to go through with your teammates. I tried to be close to them, and I found out that they were really, really close to me as well.

“Every time they saw me, they were asking me how I was doing, if I was better, that they were rooting for me, that I was going to get back soon enough to help them and score a header in the Champions League final, these kinds of things. Those little conversations always give you a little extra motivation and make you feel included.

“It hasn’t been great to be watching from the stands, but it’s a different point of view now. I’m very nervous watching the team perform. When things are not going well, you want to jump in and help them on the pitch. I feel like one of the Arsenal supporters from the stands, suffering big time and enjoying every single second when we win!”