The end of the ordeal for Illarramendi after three years of injuries and loneliness

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Three years of frustration, training alone, serving sentences in the gym.

(Motrico, Guipúzcoa, 1990) knows a lot about sacrifice and willpower.

The midfielder from San Sebastian feels like a footballer again.

He has already appeared in six games this season, a hopeful sequence after being plagued by injuries since the start of the pandemic.

Even he has rediscovered himself with the goal, last week he scored against Celta.

The last goal of the Real Sociedad captain had been scored more than four years ago: August 2018 against Leganés.

An emotional and sporting reinforcement for the Anoeta team, which

this season in full swing and will face Valladolid this Saturday (4:15 p.m.).

In the League it occupies third place, behind Madrid and Barcelona, ​​with seven wins, one draw and two losses.

Environment conducive to a player who needs to grow back.

Next June, at the age of 33, he ends his contract.

Illarramendi regains notoriety, but he wants to continue out of the limelight.

He turns down interview requests.

In the Basque club they insist: "He does not want to remove that stage, rather forget it. His will is to turn the page and not talk about his three years of being unemployed."

.

Shortly before the explosion of the coronavirus.

On February 11, he suffered a muscle injury in his thigh and was out for 64 days.

On August 30, in the derby against Athletic he broke his fibula and underwent surgery.

In October he underwent another operation to remove a screw.

He was out for 243 days and missed 33 games.

"There were two serious injuries, in many training sessions I already had discomfort. I worked a lot, but it didn't always go as I wanted. After getting injured in Bilbao I had to

he said in a conversation broadcast on the web from the

club

, shortly after recovering.

"Now I just want to enjoy"

In mid-June 2020 he relapsed with an adductor injury in a match against Alavés: 147 days off.

Last season he only participated in 10 league games, one in the Cup and another in the Europa League.

Total: 426 minutes.

"I spent a lot of time away from the team training alone and that's very difficult. Now I just want to enjoy myself," he said after regaining

's confidence .

Last Wednesday, in Real Sociedad's victory against Mallorca, Asier played his 201st match in the First Division with the San Sebastian squad.

Very far from him is that June 19, 2010 of his debut against Elche, when the team was trained by

.

The zenith of the international pivot reached him in June 2013, when he was hired by Real Madrid.

For history, that photo in which he appeared surrounded by his friends in the noble zone of the Bernabéu.

He stayed with the white club for two seasons, in which he signed 59 games in the League, 11 in the Copa del Rey and 18 in international competitions.

So, according to the Transfermarkt portal, he was valued at just over 20 million euros.

Now, after long absences due to injuries, he is valued at only three million.

The rebirth of Asier.

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