The cult hero of the Arsenal leads Boyhood Club to the glory of 40 years despite the threat of foot amputation | Football | Sport
The cult hero of Arsenal Santi Cazorla helped his club for the real Oviedo childhood to guarantee the promotion of La Liga on Saturday evening, despite having almost lost his foot eight years ago. The 40 -year -old was forced to undergo 11 operations on a ankle injury during his period with the Gunners and lost eight centimeters of his tendon before the area is infected.
Cazorla, who left Arsenal in 2018, signed for Oviedo for the second time in August 2023 following a three-year spell with Al-Sadd in Qatar. Previously he arrived through the Academy of the Club before leaving to join Villarreal as eighteen years old in 2003. Oviedo booked their place in the play-off La Liga 2 this season after having arrived third on the table. And on Saturday they made heads to the head with CD Mirandes in the second stage of the final after defeating the Almeria in a two -legged seed.
Oviedo lost the first stage of the last 1-0 from home and went down 2-0 behind the aggregate when Joaquin Panichelli opened the markings for Mirandes in the return to the Carlos Targiere stadium.
But Cazorla, who is out of contract this summer, gave his team a chance to fight to turn the draw when he marked a penalty six minutes before the interval.
Ilyas Chaira then leveled the draw, with Francisco Portillo who marked a winner for Oviedo in extra time. This means that Cazorla is likely to be present in La Liga next season, since a new agreement will be given by his current employers.
Cazorla was a star player for Arsenal when he arrived for the first time in England in 2012, but he underwent an ankle injury during a Champions League victory over Ludogorets in October 2016.
Following the loss of his tendon, he needed a skin graft from the arm to cover the wound before collecting an infection and develop gangrene.
The problem has almost requested a punch to prevent the infection from traveling on one leg.
During an interview with Marca eight years ago, Cazorla discussed a conversation that he had with English doctors while explained: “If you can walk again with your son in the garden, be satisfied”, they told me “.
Speaking how serious the problem was, he added: “At that time I was still playing, they told me I was fine. The problem is that he didn’t heal and the wounds were reopened, they were infected”.
And recognizing the shock of a Spanish doctor when the extent of his wounds became evident, the veteran declared: “He saw that I had a huge infection, which I had damaged the part of my football bone and I ate my Achilles tendon, I had 8 missing centimeters”.