Ex-Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla plays first competitive match in 668 days as he starts for Villarreal versus Real Sociedad
Former Gunners star endured nearly three years of knee, ankle and Achilles problems which nearly forced the end of his career but is now back playing for his very first club
EX-ARSENAL ace Santi Cazorla has played his first competitive game since October 2016 after getting the nod in Villarreal’s season opener against Real Sociedad.
It was a milestone moment for the much-loved Spaniard who must have questioned whether he would ever get back onto a football pitch after an agonisingly long-term ankle problem.
The midfielder left Arsenal this summer after his contract ran out and was last week unveiled as a Villarreal player using a magic trick stunt by the club.
But that is only half the story for the 33-year-old who must have been hoping for a magical miracle for the past few years.
Since suffering an ankle injury while on duty with Spain in 2013, Cazorla underwent around 10 operations.
Complications came and went with Cazorla revealing in 2017 that doctors told him he may have to be satisfied with simply walking in the garden with his son again.
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Then last year former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger described the injury, which nearly saw the player lose a foot to gangrene, as the worst he had seen.
Without a club this summer, Cazorla managed to earn a one-year deal with Villarreal, the club where he started his career.
He played his first game in 636 days when he appeared in a friendly against Hercules with Saturday representing his first competitive game since October 19 2016.
At his unveiling with the club earlier this month, Cazorla said: "It was worth all the suffering just for this moment and I will now give everything I have to play at the highest level.”