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Gabriele Stragapede

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Milan, Gimenez opens up: "I was a first-team regular; I wasn't sure whether to quit or carry on. I took medication so I could play, but at one point I couldn't run anymore"

AC Milan
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S. Gimenez

The Mexican striker talks about his long spell on the sidelines.

A long-term injury, a difficult decision and a period of recovery that has only just come to an end, leading to his return to the pitch during the last league match, in the closing minutes of the Serie A fixture against Torino.

Santiago Gimenez, Milan’s Mexican number 7 striker, spoke in an interview with TUDN about the journey that led to his final decision to undergo ankle surgery, describing his state of mind and the feelings he experienced during that long spell away from the pitch.

Below are his full comments.

  • WHERE DOES THE ANKLE PAIN COME FROM?

    Gimenez explains how long he had been suffering from ankle problems: “The discomfort had been there even before the Gold Cup; as a player, you tell yourself it’s nothing, that you just have to carry on, but after every match the pain started to get worse and worse, until it reached a point where it was really severe.”

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  • THE DOUBTS

    The Mexican striker also talks about the need to take medication in order to carry on and keep playing: “I was a first-team regular at Milan, my expectations were sky-high, and that’s when you start to wonder whether to quit or carry on. I decided to carry on; I took medication so I could play, until I reached a point where I could no longer carry on or run – it was causing me a lot of pain.”

  • THE CHOICE

    Finally, the Rossoneri’s Mexican number 7 explains his decision to stop playing: “In that match against Atalanta, I took a double dose of medication; that’s when I decided to stop playing and, after the tests and X-rays, the decision was to have surgery. With the World Cup coming up in the summer, you weigh up all the possible options; the decision I made, together with my family, was to have surgery, and it was the best choice.”

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