The striker talked to the English press about his injury and the chances of playing the first game
Luis Suárez said he will make it to the World Cup even though he admitted he was not sure about his participation in the game with England on June 19th.
“Emotionally, I’ve felt fine; psychologically, I’ve been spectacular. At no time did I feel pressured, at no time have I felt sad because at no point did I think there was a chance of me missing the World Cup. The thought never went through my mind. I could have really cried [in pain] because of this injury but I didn’t because I knew. I knew. When the doctor first spoke to me three little tears fell but no more. My wife said: ‘I can’t believe how strong you’re being’ but I knew you’d make it.”said the striker to The Guardian.
“Of course there was the normal worry, there always is when you undergo an operation … and an operation is always an operation. At first I had to rest completely. I couldn’t put weight on my leg. To see my wife worried, saying: ‘don’t move’, ‘sit still’, ‘stay there’; to not be able to put the kids to bed or bath them; was hard. But I was more concerned about that than about not making it. If they had said to me that the extent of the injury was greater, I’d have been worried. But as I knew the grade of the injury, I was confident" he said.
More Suárez´s Phrases
“I knew that there was time to make it carefully so there was no point in risking trying to get ahead of myself. I would rather get there just on time but be sure that it is right".
“After a couple of days I was on crutches and Walter Ferreira, the physiotherapist, said: ‘get rid of those’. He told me to put weight through it, but gently. Don’t do what some do and leap right on to it. Bang, bang, bang. ‘Bit by bit, until the pain goes,’ he said. And, bit by bit, the pain goes".
“I’ve heard so many meniscus stories: some players say: ‘I was back in 15 days’, the next one says 20, the next says 25. Each case is different. Some players said: ‘I was walking on the second day’. But then they admit: ‘After 20 days it swelled up again’. And now it seems everyone’s a doctor".
“The aim is to build the quadriceps: that’s what supports the knee. Sometimes you do your exercises and you look down at the knee and think ‘it’s swollen’ but it’s not swollen".
“I’ve worked indoors so far. What I don’t want to do is to go outside and start jogging and for people to see me like this. We know what the expectations are like and what the media is like. They’d say: ‘Today he’s jogging but he doesn’t look quite right’. Then it’ll be: ‘Today he was running normally’. And that can load pressure on and also create a false impression.”
The Game vs. England
“I saw reports saying that I had told the Liverpool players I would make it for the game against England, for sure,” he said to the Guardian. “But I didn’t say that. The day of the operation I exchanged messages with Stevie [Gerrard] and Glen [Johnson]. They said: ‘Hope to see you in Brazil’. And I said: ‘Yeah, see you there’. That’s not exactly the same thing. I never said I’d definitely be there.
“I’ve already told Gerrard that we’ll swap shirts,” Suárez says. “And Glen will ask for my shirt, I’m sure. Maybe Daniel [Sturridge] and Raheem [Sterling] will as well. I’ll take a few with me” said Suárez.
“When we played against Netherland in 2010, I was at Ajax and had friends in their team. I had to tell the kit man I needed five shirts. Although I didn’t play, they still wanted my shirt; they have the date and the match stitched into them, so it’s a nice reminder of the match. So, yes, I’ll swap shirts. I’m not sure I’ll actually put it on though” he added.
Suarez’s surgery was carried out by Luis Francescoli, brother of Enzo Francescoli, his idol and he said the game with England is the one everyone is looking forward to most here in Uruguay”, he concluded.