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Eight years after being told he should be satisfied if he could walk again, 40-year-old former Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla scored the goal that put boyhood club Real Oviedo into the La Liga play-off final.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Spaniard came off the bench at half-time with his side trailing 1-0 to Almeria in the play-off semi-final second leg. <\/p>\n
Within four minutes, the midfielder scored a free-kick with his weaker left foot to put Oviedo 3-2 up on aggregate. <\/p>\n
The 1-1 second-leg draw was enough for Oviedo to reach the play-off final, where they will face either Mirandes or Racing Santander.<\/p>\n
“I’m just trying to enjoy what is left of my career, knowing that the end is closer,” Cazorla said after the game. <\/p>\n
“I try to enjoy myself, which is the most important thing. I was sad that I wouldn’t start the game but I knew that this game was important. I’m happy I was able to help the team.”<\/p>\n
Cazorla, a two-time European champion with Spain, spent six years at Arsenal and made 180 appearances before leaving in 2018.<\/p>\n
The final two years of his time in north London were plagued with injuries.<\/p>\n
Cazorla suffered an Achilles injury in October 2016, with the midfielder going on to have 11 operations to cure the problem.<\/p>\n
One of the operations led to gangrene with doctors telling Cazorla he should be satisfied to walk again.<\/p>\n
However, the Spaniard pushed to restart his football career and he had his Achilles reconstructed, with doctors grafting skin from his left arm – featuring a tattoo – to his right ankle. <\/p>\n
Cazorla spent two years at La Liga club Villarreal after leaving Arsenal in 2018, before a three-year stint in Qatar.<\/p>\n
He re-joined boyhood club Oviedo in 2023, taking on a minimum salary in the hope of returning the club to the top flight for the first time since 2001. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n