Pedro López, head of Valencia CF's Medical Services, gave an update on the intervention that José Luis Gayà underwent in Turku (Finland) to treat a left quadriceps tear.

Gayà

“He is doing very well, with very little pain after the surgery. We came back by plane from Finland and he held up very well from the travel. He has rested and is feeling good.”

The operation

“Everything went correctly. The area of the injury was identified very well, the surgical technique was done very well and, in principle, everything went as expected. It is very important that the scarring after an injury is in the best shape possible so that there is not another relapse. What we look for is not only that the tissue recovers, but that it does so in best possible way so that there is no repeat of the injury."

The injury itself

“We knew, from the beginning, that it was a complex injury. With the initial injury on March 17th, we knew that it was complex because it affected the muscle and tendons. We knew that the recovery period was going to be long. There were two options at that time: Surgery, or conservative treatment. With it being at the end of the season and with the games that remained, we tried to make a conservative decision, to see if we could still take into account the player's desire to play in the final part of the season. That decision was made and we took things very slowly in the recovery process, with very calm and controlled timeframes. But, despite having good feelings during the recovery and return stage, in the match against Girona FC he had some discomfort and we felt that he had experienced a relapse. When there is an injury of this type and we know that it is a complicated injury, we know that there are risks in returning to action. We accepted that we had certain risks with the timeframes in which we were working, but we worked with a fairly calm approach and the player always felt good. In this work that was done with the physiotherapy, rehabilitation and medical experts, we considered when we could increase the load a little. Logically, we knew that we were taking a risk in those final games, but the player wanted to be there and accompany the team. That is an important decision for us.”

The decision to have surgery

“We reassessed all the medical tests we had made, we did some MRIs again and, speaking clearly with the player, we reached the consensus that the best solution was surgery. We had no doubt that we could not take the risk with a treatment like the one we had undergone until now, and that the best decision was to have surgery. We have other cases within the club where players have been operated on and have played and returned to 100%. Some have told us that they were feeling better in the injured area.”

Recovery

“We are going to go very slowly, taking advantage of the fact that we now have the summer break. This first month is going to be very calm, with just physical therapy work. We are going to try to get the injured area to form natural tissue, filling it with the cells it needs to be normal, and then we will increase, very gradually, stretching and muscle strength. Everything is going to be very closely regulated. We have established communication, both with the surgeon who operated on him, and we are not going to risk things in the slightest. First he will stretch, then there will be work in the gym, and the last phase is the return to the pitch.”

Gayà’s mood

“He is a very strong, brave person with a very positive mentality. I am convinced that he is going to get through this. Nobody has the slightest doubt."

Working with the club

“We are very satisfied with the work we are doing within the club. We have Medical Services who are very well qualified: The doctors, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychology... Many factors have an influence. We have already proven, for a long time, with our experience, that they are all very important.”