Inter captain Lautaro Martinez is sidelined by a thigh injury and will be out until after the November break. GOAL said he gave a lengthy interview in his home country, Argentina, where he spoke about playing through pain before and during the 2022 World Cup.
Determination to keep playing
Martinez said: "I don't want to miss a training session, I don't want to miss a single match."
Why he continued at Inter
Martinez said: "At that time, there were three or four Inter team-mates who also had physical problems and were thinking more about the World Cup than the club. But I'm different. I'm loyal to those who open their doors to me, to those who treat me incredibly well. I take responsibility for my work because I feel it deep inside me. At that moment, I felt I couldn't abandon ship and leave the club. So I kept playing."
Issue at the first national-team session
Martinez said: "I remember that at the first training session with the national team, after the journey, we did a bit of mobility work and I already couldn’t feel my ankle any more. So I spoke to the coach and asked him if I could give it a bit of a rest. I didn’t play in that friendly."
Playing with anaesthetic at the World Cup
Martinez said: "Then, when the World Cup began, I played with anaesthetic in the very first match against Saudi Arabia. That happened again after the second match, but after the one against Mexico it became really difficult to carry on."