Umtiti talks about his injury ‘nightmare’

The defender missed three months of the season

Samuel Umtiti has been talking about his recent long injury lay-off and explained just how difficult a time he had while out on the sidelines.

The Barcelona defender was ruled out in November and did not return until February, opting against surgery and spending time in Qatar receiving treatment as part of his recovery.

Umtiti admitted it was an unhappy time and talked about why he did not undergo surgery.

“The easy thing would have been an operation,” he said.

“But I’m not like that. I’m strong mentally and I don’t give up, even when it’s tough. It was. Yes, were there were times when I said I should give up and have an operation. But I held out. I was also fortunate to have good people around me. Even if it wasn’t easy for them.

“During that time, I was quite cold and closed. I wasn’t happy… It was weighing on me, and I just wanted to get out of that nightmare.”

Source | L’Equipe

The World Cup winner also said his knee has been “responding well” after returning to first-team action, and he’ll be hoping to start on Wednesday against former team Lyon in the Champions League.

Source: barcablaugranes.com