Former Arsenal loanee Denis Suarez has opened up on the injury nightmare that blighted his time at the Emirates Stadium.
The 25-year-old spent six months at Arsenal after signing on loan from Barcelona in January 2019, he returned to the Nou Camp in the summer having made just four Premier League appearances for the Gunners.
The wideman was mainly used as a second half substitute in his early days at the club, but saw his season cut short in April when he suffered a groin injury.
Suarez has since joined La Liga club Celta de Vigo on a permanent deal, where he has started every league game this season, and the Spain international has opened up about his time at the Emirates Stadium.
"You never know what can happen in the future [regarding a move back to the Premier League]. I went to Arsenal with great hopes," he told Goal .
"I made my debut against Manchester City but in our first away game I got injured. I thought I had ruptured my adductor because I could barely put weight on the leg or move it.
"The scan showed it was not ruptured, but rather that I had a huge build-up of fluid on my pelvic bone and from there I could not take a single step without feeling pain.
"I carried on training because I didn't want to stop in my second week after arriving but I couldn't do it because I was never at 100 per cent, not even 50. I couldn't even take a shot at goal."
Having arrived at the club full of hope, Surez says that his time at Arsenal was frustrating due to injuries.
"It is more frustrating to not play because of injury. I suffered so much at Arsenal that it practically stopped me doing everyday things," he added.
"It hurts when you sleep, when you sneeze and even walking up the stairs. Just imagine going to a club that had called you a month before, with all the hope in the world and not being able to do anything from the second week onward apart from trying to train with huge pain.
"There was a point where I said: 'enough'. I played three or four games but it was as if I didn't because I wasn't even at 50 per cent.
"But the injury is now behind me and despite sometimes feeling a bit of discomfort I am working day and night for it to go away."
