The hell of injuries is something that the vast majority of athletes have to live through. Very few manage to break free in years of training and competition. However, there are those who have to endure very long-lasting situations far from any sport practice. This is the case of Miguel Zamora, who returned to the slopes at the hands of CB Santurtzi in December after seven months of inactivity. During all this time, he even thought about the possibility of quitting basketball, since he could not find a clear diagnosis for what was happening to him. He now continues to suffer discomfort, lives with them and is the second best valued player on his team.
Miguel Zamora was one of the pillars of the historic season that the purples carried out last year, where the dispatches prevented their promotion to LEB Plata. A fact that the man from Madrid calls “very disappointing because we were all very excited.” That setback also led to the departure of the previous coaching staff and the majority of the squad. Something that upset the base even more. “It was more sad to assume that it was the end point of a cycle,” he says. Currently, only six players from that project continue. Despite the disappointment caused by not being promoted, he decided to continue since “I like to play basketball and, if it’s with people I appreciate, then much better.”
However, things were not going to go smoothly for him. Zamora was injured during the match in which they certified his apparent promotion to LEB silver. At first, it seemed that it was a fibrillar tear in the abdominal wall. He was treated with several physiotherapists, but his pain did not disappear and he underwent countless tests to try to find a solution or, at least, find an answer. There was no way to resolve the issue. “I couldn’t do any more tests, so the rule-out diagnosis is that I have neuropathy, a defect in the nerve that also caused my muscle injury,” he reveals. A problem that does not have a treatment to follow as such.
“Nothing can be done. No matter how much I did, it didn’t get better. The only thing I could do was work to learn to tolerate pain, “says the guard from Santurtziarras. As it is not a common injury, he describes that “it affects any movement, it is quite intense pain that completely blocks you.” “Not only did it affect me when it was time to play, I couldn’t even go to the mountains, so emotionally you come down a bit,” he admits. At the time, not knowing if or when he was going to recover, “I even thought I had to quit basketball,” he says. Some doubts that he has already dispelled, since he returned to the slopes two months ago.
Of course, he has done it “forcing”. “The reality is that I continue with the injury in fits and starts,” she admits. Likewise, Miguel Zamora reveals that he has had to change the way he plays. «I like to play with speed and explosiveness, this forces me to play slower. Now I have to be smarter and less physical », he explains. Despite this, in the eleven games he has played this season, he has become the second best rated player on his team -9.4- and registers an average scoring average of 10.7 points. Numbers that reflect that he continues to be an absolute reference for his people. A CB Santurtzi who is much more comfortable after his last two wins.
The play-off in mind
After being the undisputed leader last year, the purple box has spent some time this time only three points from the relegation places. However, according to Miguel Zamora, that has never even been an option for them. “We have never considered that we were in danger of going down, we always look and compare ourselves with those at the top,” he says. The man from Madrid reflects that they were greatly affected by the numerous injuries they suffered during the first part of the season, but that they were convinced that “things were going to get better.” In fact, “I am quite optimistic and I even think we can play the play-offs,” he declares.