FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.10.2007 11:01

Touré: “I’m really keen to get back soon”

Berta Brau

The Ivory Coast midfielder is in the final stages of his recovery from the muscle injury that has sideline him for the past few weeks. He assured us: “It would be good to make my reappearance against Almería”.

Almost four weeks after he was injured in the away match against Levante, Touré Yaya can see the light at the end of the tunnel. He’s itching to get back to the action and he has been following the team very closely while he’s been out. Now that’s he’s nearly ready to return, he reveals in this interview: “I wouldn’t like to be in the trainer’s shoes, with so many top class players”.

How are you feeling?

"I feel great. I’m really keen to play again as soon as possible".

What stage are you at in your recovery?

"It’s true I’ve made a quick recovery but when you’re keen to return you can overcome many things".

When do you think you can play again?

"I’m really keen to play as soon as possible. I think it wouldn’t be bad to play this Sunday. I think that this Thursday or Friday I’ll get the green light from the doctor to play".

Are you ready?

"When people ask me this I always say I’m ready. I believe the important thing is to give your best".

And what about Barça?

"At the moment we’re playing a lot of games one after the other and physically that’s complicated. I sympathise with my teammates called up by the national teams. With the travelling and the matches it’s physically difficult but I think that with the players we’ve got, there’s a serious and professional group that can achieve everything".

Are you happy here?

"Yes, very happy. I’ve been received very well. Everything’s gone marvellously and I believe it will continue that way".

What do you think of the team in the last few weeks?

"They look good. The players are tired and you could see that in the match against Villarreal. A lot of the players had just come back after playing with the national sides and we had to play against a good team. I believe you can’t always be at the same level but I think it’s only a question of tiredness. Apart from that, I think my teammates area doing a good job".

You bring a lot of balance to the team. Do you think that balance has been maintained in your absence?

"There are two players per position. This year’s Barça is at an international level and, for example, there are Márquez and Iniesta to cover my position. Iniesta, a player I value very highly, has done a very good job. There are also Xavi and Deco. But at that moment it was physically difficult because they’d all come back from playing international matches".

What’s your analysis of the last two matches?

"Villarreal are a good team. They had the advantage of not having too many players away on international duty and so were able to prepare the game whereas FC Barcelona had the majority of our players with the national squads and that definitely had an influence. The match against Rangers was very difficult because they closed down at the back. But looking ahead I think there’ll be more freshness in our play in the game against Almería and we’ll regain our confidence".