Arsenal's Santi Cazorla opens up about turmoils of injury

Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool (agg 3-1) - Europa League LIVE: Mo Salah reduces deficit inside 10 minutes as Reds eye miracle comeback... while West Ham pull one back against Leverkusen
Pantomime Villan! Emiliano Martinez avoids getting sent off DURING penalty shootout for winding up Lille fans thanks to little-known rule… before Aston Villa keeper saves decisive spot-kick
Emiliano Martinez's ludicrous antics detract from his enormous talent, writes TOM COLLOMOSSE as Aston Villa keeper's shootout heroics book Europa Conference League semi-final
The Premier League is poisoning our game and their hand in having FA Cup replays scrapped is another spoonful of arsenic down the throats of the smaller clubs, writes OLIVER HOLT
Max Verstappen priced at 1/6 to make it four wins out of five this season at Chinese Grand Prix - with Lewis Hamilton 40/1 to secure his first victory since December 2021
Arsenal identify THREE positions to strengthen in the summer in wake of Champions League exit, with significant funds to be made available for transfers
Premier League and the FA agree to tear up the football calendar with FA Cup Final on league weekend while replays and the winter break are killed off amid Champions League expansion
Ronald Araujo offers blunt response to Ilkay Gundogan's criticism that his red card against PSG fueled Champions League exit... amid toxic Barcelona dressing room split
For a man who has been handed everything, Lewis Hamilton needs to stop feeling sorry for himself
PETE JENSON: Real Madrid have not made a mistake in the transfer market since Eden Hazard, with Jude Bellingham the sole 'Galatico style' signing... here's how they've become the smartest club in Europe
PETE JENSON: Why Xavi's long Barcelona goodbye could be cut short if Real Madrid humble them after Champions League exit to PSG, which exposed cracks in tense dressing room
Man United and Chelsea top table of Premier League's most incidents at grounds with a chef given an electric shock and a steward being doused in beer after getting a burning spark in eye
'Is that for prisoners?': Liverpool fans left stunned by Atalanta's away end for crunch Europa League tie... with 1,000 Reds to be situated in the corner of the ground in frightful-looking stand
Aston Villa are denied by spectacular double save from Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier in Conference League clash... as Frenchman recovers from initial stop to prevent Douglas Luiz giving visitors the lead in extra time
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is booked after FURIOUS touchline exchange with Lille boss Paulo Fonseca during Europa Conference League clash
How Chelsea and Cole Palmer are primed to heap more misery on Man City in their FA Cup semi-final showdown... and the dilemma that could make or break the Blues' season
England players and clubs fear the RFU's new hybrid contract scheme could be scaled back or SCRAPPED amid lack of progress... with only two signed up so far
Luke Littler's crashes out of Premier League Darts Night 12 in Rotterdam at the first hurdle as Michael Smith beats teenage sensation for a FOURTH time
'You don't speak for me or my family of women!': Female football fans hit back at ITV pundit Eni Aluko after her incredible claim that UK stadiums are 'not safe for women'
Man City are labelled 'CHEATS' amid their 115 charges for breaching financial regulations after Champions League knockout by Real Madrid
MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Champions League bonuses no comfort after Real pain, the £300million Etihad expansion project begins... and England's next Gen to visit sister club Girona
Chelsea is a 'CESSPIT of over-inflated egos', claims Chris Sutton on It's All Kicking Off... Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson's penalty scrap shows the Blues are a 'team in name only'
Arsenal 'target RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko' amid comparisons to Erling Haaland... but the Gunners 'face competition from Chelsea and Man United for the £43m-rated forward
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham doubts for England's Euro 2024 preparation after Champions League progression... but Man City and Arsenal being knocked out helps Gareth Southgate

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has been sidelined with an Achilles injury
The Spaniard has not played for the Gunners since October 2016
He has undergone eight operations and was left with no strength in his leg

Published: 19:50 EDT, 27 July 2017 | Updated: 07:25 EDT, 28 July 2017

e-mail

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has opened up about the horrible ordeals he has suffered with his injuries over the past few season.

The Gunners star has been sidelined through injury since their 6-0 win over Ludogorets in the Champions League in October 2016. The Spain international has undergone eight operations in an attempt to solve the problem in his right Achilles.

And it has not been an easy path which Cazorla has trodden on the injury table, with his physical and emotional state being constantly dented as the months went on.

Santi Cazorla has opened up about the hardships of missing football through injury

The Spaniard has not played since Arsenal's 6-0 hammering of Ludogorets last October

Even though he has been frustrated in rehabilitation, the 32-year-old is adamant fans will see him back on the field soon enough.

'I don't know how long it will take, but I'm convinced that I'll be back soon,' he told Onda Cero's 'El Transistor' programme.

'Each time I leave the operating theatre, I think that everything will be fine and I'll be back again.

'The doctors have told me that a case like mine is one that they probably won't see again for a long time as it is unusual for an athlete.

Cazorla had to watch his side win the FA Cup from the sidelines back in May

'I had no strength in my tendon or muscle mass. Every day my son asks me if I will play again because he really wants to see me out on the pitch again and I really hope that it will happen soon.'

The North London side face Chelsea in the Community Shield final before kicking-off their Premier League season against Leicester on August 11.

Arsene Wenger, and Cazorla himself, will be desperate for the Spaniard to make a full recovery to bolster the Gunners' midfield in order to mount a serious challenge for the title this season.