Rufino Segovia is determined to be ready for Selangor’s first match this season, away to Pahang at the end of the month.
BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Selangor striker Rufino Segovia del Burgo is determined to not let his recent fitness setback and a recent tragedy hold him back from making a return this season.
The 34-year old forward had been sidelined since March 2019 for an Achilles injury that he seemed to have recovered from near the end of the season, but hopes of a comeback this season were in doubt just one week into pre-season training, when it emerged that the injury might have a long-lasting effect.
“My Achilles tendon is 100 per cent [recovered], but when you’re injured for 10 months you’ll lose muscle in this leg. So one leg is strong but the other is weaker, and it is painful in the pubic area.
“The pain requires me to delay joining the team training in order to work on strengthening the muscles of my weaker leg. But I am confident that I’ll be joining the team again this week, and that I’ll be at 100 per cent against Pahang (Selangor’s first game this season),” said the Spaniard when met by Goal on Wednesday.
While the 2018 Super League top scorer is determined to work hard to ensure that he is available for the Red Giants’ first game this season; on February 29 away to Pahang, he admitted that he has been hurt by the reactions that his recent fitness setback elicited.
Several suggestions have been made by Selangor fans regarding the Spaniard’s condition, such as signing a new foreign striker to replace him on the roster.
“It’s a very tough time for me because I’ve never been injured like this before. Now I have to fight against everything; people that don’t trust me, those who think I’m old, when just 10 months earlier I had been the best player in the league, the top-scorer? What has happened since then? Have I suddenly stopped being able to play?
“It’s painful, when I’ve worked hard for this club and have been a good player. Sometimes people forget what you have done, but that’s why I’ll keep on fighting, to show everyone that I’m back and it will be my best season yet with Selangor,” expressed the former Athletico Madrid trainee.
He also revealed that the doubts are particularly hurtful given a recent personal tragedy; the passing of his father Rufino Segovia Fernandez last September.
“I want it to be my best season for my dad who passed away four months ago. I want to show him that I’m a fighter.”
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