Yeremy Pino’s happy return

On 15 November 2023, Yeremy Pino's life changed completely. During a training session with Villarreal he felt a sharp pain that he still remembers to this day, as is normal with an injury of the caliber he suffered. He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, waved goodbye to the season and put the brakes on a career that had been full of success for a player with an enormous talent.

‘It's been very long, very hard. Above all, with moments of doubt and uncertainty, of not knowing if I'm going to come back the same. In the end, here we are, with another opportunity, a new hope and still fighting for my dreams,’ explains the Canary Islander, who is enormously happy to feel like a footballer again.

And yet the road has been long, hard and full of obstacles, especially when he was found to have an infection when he underwent blood tests just over two months into his recovery. ‘You have a process, they tell you how everything is going to be. You get better and that makes you happy. But I got the bacterial infection and it felt like a sucker punch. It meant starting all over again, having another operation, starting on crutches... It's like starting from scratch.

But even in the bad times, positive conclusions can be drawn and Yeremy speaks with fortitude about all these dark months. ‘You value everything much more. The training sessions, the trips, the training camps, the small gestures of being able to be there and to be able to live your life.... The first three months you can't do things on your own, you depend on people, but it has been a great learning experience. I've seen colleagues who have been through it and who tell you to learn from the journey. I remember Mikel (Oyarzabal), who told me to learn from the process because it's very nice, and I didn't understand it. I thought it was rubbish, but it's nice and you have to learn from it’.

He won the UEFA Nations League in June 2023 but, unfortunately, missed out on the European Championships he had dreamed of. ‘Not being there hurt me, but seeing what the team has achieved, the unit that Luis has created... For me it's like a family. I was always in contact with them, I spoke with Luis many times, with team-mates like Baena, David (Raya)... They made me feel part of the group many times, with Álvaro (Morata) too, and I thank them for what they have done for me. They've given me a lot of encouragement.

He is happy for everyone, but the first message he sent was for one person in particular. ‘To my friend Baena. In the end, he is the one who has been with me since the very first minute, since we were little kids. He had a great season with the European Championships success, and at the Olympic Games. I'm very happy for him.

Now, with Spain at the top, he returns to the national team and is prouder than ever with all the effort behind his return. ‘It's very difficult to be here, there are very, very good players. I am very happy that Luis and the coaching staff have given me this opportunity and I will try to make the most of it’.