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Due to a terrible injury that kept him away from football for five months, defender Antonio Valencia admits that he is approaching his best athletic form.
"At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to run as fast anymore, but the fitness specialist convinced me that I would fully recover. That gave me confidence," said the Ecuadorian.
"When I was injured, I would sit at home watching games and telling myself, 'in this situation, I would do this or that'. Before, the longest I couldn't play was three months, and now it's been five, so it was hard.
But now I am almost 100 percent ready and I am happy that I can play important matches. It's better than training with the boys and competing when the season reaches its peak.
Football is my whole life and maybe I didn't appreciate it before the injury, but now I enjoy every practice and every game.
