The return of Ricky Rubio: a year with "fear", tears at five in the morning and a gold to chase

surfed

the highest waves of a career already to remember.

All the promises of that boy that

made his debut at the age of 14 at Joventut had been fulfilled, despite the obstacles.

The dominance of Europe, the conquest of the NBA, the MVP of a World Cup... And a full maturity to which he visited, again, the ghost of his cursed knee.

More than a year later, the time has come to close the circle.

That December 28th they were not Holy Innocents at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

Just like in 2012, when he was a

in Minnesota, the ACL in his left knee blew through the air.

There were two minutes remaining and, against the Pelicans, he had 27 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

Like just over a month before, when he had destroyed the Knicks in Madison with 37 points (eight of nine on three-pointers) and 10 assists, his most in the NBA.

Like that summer, when he had become the top scorer in the Olympic Games, 38 points to Team USA in the quarterfinals.

But 2021, historic for him, had the worst climax in store for him.

Everything indicates that it will be tonight at the Target Center in Portland, or perhaps on Saturday in Minneapolis that saw him debut.

Or, at the latest, on Monday in Cleveland against the same Pelicans that he was injured (and against

).

In any case, the return to the courts of Ricky Rubio, in search of his 12th season in the NBA, is imminent.

The Catalan has fulfilled each step to the letter in a recovery from which he always said he would come back "stronger".

He worked with his inseparable

and with his trusted physiotherapist for years,

.

In recent days he has been passing every important test, strength, balance and conditioning on the pitch, where he is already habitual in five-on-five training, always the last barrier.

He even beefed up his setup with the G-League affiliate team, the Charges.

His coach,

, spoke of a gradual entry into the rotation.

It is expected that he will start playing between 15 and 20 minutes per game and that he will not play

until the break in February for the All Star. Because, at the age of 32, the challenges to fasten a legendary career are still a handful.

"Not half the time"

That is why Ricky, who has already declared that not too late he will return to El Masnou where he wants his son to grow up, completely forgot 2022 in sporting terms. If a decade before it took him nine months to return to the courts, missing the London Games along the way Now he took it easy.

"When I was young, I didn't dedicate half the time to it now. You're afraid of relapsing, that's why it's hard for me to go back," he admitted a few weeks ago on the El Reverso podcast, where he also recognized moments of frustration: "I remember One day, when I arrived at El Masnou two weeks after surgery, I was on crutches and couldn't walk down the stairs of my house. It was 5 in the morning, with jet lag... and I started to cry".

"Having been through this injury before, he has a very good understanding of his body."

Now, along the way, he's even been traded to Indiana.

Although it was only a market move, it couldn't be more valued by a Cavaliers skyrocketing in expectations and in which

occupies an advisory position.

During the summer, already as a free agent, they signed the Spaniard for three more seasons, a contract of 18.4 million dollars.

While recovering his tone, Ricky joins one of the most powerful teams in the NBA, quarterfinals in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers, who did not reach the playoffs last year, were reinforced with a star like

(29.3 points per game) -with whom he already shared a dressing room in Utah- and attend to the explosion of youngsters like

.

Advancing in a postseason that he only stepped on (and in the first round) during his time with the Jazz is one of his great challenges: Ricky dreams of playing in the NBA Finals.

The other has to do with the national team, which he will lead in the next World Cup in search of the most difficult yet, to renew the gold achieved in 2019. In the Philippines, Ricky will be the veteran who leads a group that won the Eurobasket in his absence.

smacks his lips at the couple he can form in the outside game with

.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Ricky Rubio

• eurobasketball

• nba

• Articles Lucas Saez-Bravo