Emotional ex-Arsenal star Santi Cazorla still in shock over Spain call-up after miraculous comeback from injury
Midfielder says he didn't believe it was possible to complete fairy tale return to national team
Sponsored by
ARSENAL legend Santi Cazorla can't believe his fairy tale return to the Spanish national team after years of injury hell.
The Villarreal midfielder missed more than 100 games in two years after an Achilles injury needed a string of surgeries after complications.
Cazorla, 34, notched seven goals and 11 assists in an impressive comeback season, earning a shock call up to the national side for the first time in four years on Friday.
Cazorla, who considered retirement, told : "If someone had told me this would happen at the end of this season, I wouldn't have been able to believe them.
"It's been two very hard years due to injury and I know that I'm at an age where it's difficult to get back into the national team.
"I always try to contribute to my club and feel important. Thanks to everyone else, I've been able to rediscover my best form."
Cazorla, who played 180 games and won two FA Cups for the Gunners, also said his team-mates knew before he did - and shocked him in the dressing room.
"I was told as I entered the dressing room - my team-mates told me," he said.
MOST READ IN FOOTBALL
"I came in after training and everyone was singing my name. It took me by surprise and it's still sinking in. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it.
"I thank again Juan Carlos Herranz, the whole of Mikel Sanchez's medical team in Vitoria and my family. Without them, it would've been impossible.
"I'm not going to forget such an amazing year that we've all experienced."
