The image of his knee creak still squeak. That unfortunate March 18 in Valencia sounds recent for such a great destruction, barely five months separate us from the catastrophe of bones and ligaments. Enrique Ponce grabbed his leg with a twitching hand of pain , the desperate gesture, aware of gravity: he was fighting without the crusader and the instability of the joint gave way completely in the dry fall. The buttock grenade did not even count in Ponce's mind. Fearing the chilling part that crumbled, already in Madrid, Dr. Angel Villamor after four hours of operating room and reconstruction: 10-centimeter fracture of the tibial plateau and a sinking of 2, the usual rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, that of the ligament inner side, the two menisci, the inner and the outer ... The "catastrophic knee" of the master impacted all the headlines of the press on March 21.
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He has just entered the month of August in Madrid. A slight breeze passes through the early hours of the morning. It's weekend and a silence deafens the empty city. Enrique Ponce lights a cigarette. He wears integral black. Laugh, hum, radiates tranquility. It is fine as a reed. Count the "unbeatable sensations" that brings from the field to the cows. It has already been tested at its Cetrina estate. And in other areas of bravery. The same temper on his wrists, the same music on his fabrics. Villamor has watched him every step until the last minute. The knee responds but becomes inflamed, and spilled synovial fluid has been necessary. Now it is something else. It is advisable not to force training. Nor for muscle one gram more. Patience, perseverance, respect for the times - even so it is a bit early - for months, without even supporting the leg, they cannot go to the end of the race to return. You hear Ponce and hear the illusion of the precocious mico that bullfighting dreamed . And 40 years have passed: at 48, almost 30 alternative, almost 30 in figure, 5,000 bulls lying down, fifty-something pardoned, Spain surrendered, America conquered, tomorrow returns to the ring at El Puerto de Santa María. As a prelude to Malaga, Gijón, Bilbao ... The responsibility of the gallons. As if it were yesterday.
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It was the sweltering summer of 2004 when a Torrestrella bull broke it up in Alicante. Again a crunch of bones more serious than the cornada itself, the split collarbone and I don't know how many broken ribs. Nobody bet on a return before Bilbao because it would imply going to Bilbao. Major words the bull of Bilbao. Enrique Ponce reappeared against all odds and went to Bilbao. Do you remember, Enrique? And Enrique exhales the smoke, smiles and remembers. I interviewed him in the room of the provincial hospital of La Terreta. Sixty days later the blood dress of bull and gold of the mishap of Alicante was again sheathed. Do you know that tomorrow, in the square of Joselito el Gallo, Ponce will take out the same terno from the ominous March 18? That white and jet that honored the centenary of Valencia CF when the Fallas burned and the sky thundered. When the hells opened.
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It is not that EP has returned to activity, but has done so to his hyperactivity. Within the family there is division of opinions. And fear. His father-in-law and attorney, Victoriano Valencia, suggested letting the year go by. And Paloma and Palomita, alas! The teacher knows this and disperses the attention with videos of the small and brave Bianca . What is Brave, the cartoon heroine, in flesh and blood. Capable of blowing tomorrow the clarines in El Puerto at the exact time of the father's return. Ponce will parade ahead of Morante and Manzanares .
The dawn is still in Madrid. Does not stop. As his legend.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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