Fernando, goalkeeper and one of the captains of UD Almería, is now back into training along with the rest of his team-mates in Marbella for the Almeria’s pre-season training camp after not being able to finish last season and be in time for the current team’s get-together. 

‘The truth is that I have gone through an ordeal ... who would have thought that a muscle injury that was actually not serious and with a recovery time of two or three weeks was going to turn into two months, and on top of that I caught the Covid. Unluckily, everything happened in the most important part of the league, when we were going to compete in play-offs’, explained the Rojiblanco goalie.

On this same topic, he commented that ‘when you catch the virus, you just think that you’re so unlucky and then you try to take it all in. I have always followed the health and safety measures and yet I was infected. You never know where it can be and you have to be fully aware of assuming all the protocols. I had mild symptoms, but you cannot avoid the uncertainty and worry, especially when you have your family next to you. Also, a neighbour of mine passed away. It's hard…’

Fernando's situation has been complicated because as he said ‘after testing positive for Covid-19, soon after I tested negative, but after a while, the result was positive again and no antibodies were generated ...’

The nightmare is over: ‘I am now fully recovered, including the muscle injury, and fortunately I have been able to start training, something of major significance when we all meet in the pre-season because if you happen to miss this preparation… it is difficult to fit in the team afterwards.’