Cazorla: Injuries made me consider 'throwing in the towel'
On the heels of an eighth ankle surgery since damaging his Achilles in October, Arsenal midfield metronome Santi Cazorla has admitted that he considered quitting football.
A second successive season plagued by major injury has seen Cazorla, 32, question his future in football, and understandably so, after the ailment sustained in the Champions League against Ludogorets saw the Spaniard sidelined for the remainder of the season.
"You feel like throwing in the towel but my desire to play football is above everything," Cazorla told Cadena Ser, courtesy of the Evening Standard. "I haven't been given a timeframe (to return). It's very difficult to put a date, but I don't think it will be within five months."
Cazorla made just eight league appearances this season after missing 23 top-flight fixtures a year ago, and Arsenal has deteriorated without its slick-passing Spanish international in the middle of the park. Arsene Wenger has admitted as much, saying that Mesut Ozil has struggled without his fellow fancy-footed midfielder.
"I think he has been a bit analysed a lot," Wenger said. "He suffered a lot from the loss of Santi Cazorla."
Quotes from Cazorla in early December suggested that the former Villarreal star could return to first-team duties in February, though that prognosis was quickly refuted by numerous setbacks and additional operations.
"I've undergone eight surgeries, the last one yesterday (Monday). I hope that things go better," Cazorla conceded, before going into greater detail. "I've had complications since November. I got a bacterial infection in surgery, my bone got infected, the wound would not close and I had a graft done."
Injured or not, Arsenal showed its faith in Cazorla, signing the Oviedo academy product to a mid-season extension that largely flew under the radar.
"They (Arsenal) have been very good to me," he said. "They gave me a contract extension before I had my surgery (in December). The coach spoke to me and reassured me."