Cari thousand days, 955 specifically, have passed since Neyder Lozano will play his last minutes in an official match, specifically nine, on May 26, 2019 against Nástic de Tarragona. In July of that same year the Colombian he signed for Granada CF, and in the preseason with the rojiblanco team he suffered a fracture in the tibia of his right leg.
Almost three years later and with four operations in between due to an infection in the affected area, the center-back has not yet been able to debut with the team. But Neyder has returned to smile. Since last week he has completed a good part of the training sessions with the group, along with his teammates, following the recovery plan set out by the club. in words for Radio MARK Granadathe Colombian admitted to giving “little steps forward in recovery, enjoying being back with my teammates on the green“. Neyder assures that these years have been very “difficult”, since “My career has been paused, but I have been able to face it and we are seeing the light“. At this time, the man from Quibdó affirms that he clung to “work, perseverance and faith”.
Lozano’s has not been the typical injury that can affect a footballer, but rather has led him through a long process of operations and visits to different doctors. The former Sanse and Elche player acknowledges that he already had discomfort during that preseason when he arrived in Granada, but “I thought it was because of the change in the insoles of the boots, I didn’t think it would have this magnitude. At first I was told that I had a crack in my right leg due to stress and that my genetics demand much more from that part of the body than normal.”
However, misfortune has followed him during these last three seasons, in which there has even been talk of whether the condition in his leg was related to a tumor, but after visiting different doctors it seems that they finally hit the key. “They did tests to see if there was a tumor, but it didn’t respond. Before I had surgery again, the pandemic arrived, then we went to Barcelona and decided to remove the plate, we put an intramedullary nail inside the tibia, without a graft. It didn’t go well either, and At the end of last season they operated on me again and it turned out that my tibia did not respond well, it did not have a good blood supply. the last surgeryof almost 12 hours, was 7 or 8 months ago and they grafted my quadriceps, with some vascular veins so that there would be a good blood supply, strengthening it with a nail“.
But the Colombian never gave up, he continued to work daily and leaned on his partner, the club and his teammates, being aware that his life could take an irreversible change, something he is not afraid of. “I have not been afraid of not being able to walk, I have always had that hope that at some point the situation would change for the better. I’m not afraid to leave professional football either. I am young, I have time to prepare, study or work. I’ve always been a hustler‘”.
The defender declares that “he is worried about the future, but at the same time not. I know that I am a player with the conditions to continue playing, if the opportunity arises I will show that I can continue competing and improving, and why not, return to professional football“. But spending three years off the pitch has also had consequences on his physical condition. “My day to day these last three years has been going from the gym to the pool and from the pool to the gym. But now the problem is not only my tibia, but the rest of the muscles and joints. I haven’t stopped working, but I have stopped competing.”
The last surgery, of almost 12 hours, was seven or eight months ago and they grafted my quadriceps, with vascular veins so that there would be a good blood supply, strengthening it with a nail
Neyder does admit that he has “the thorn of not having debuted with Granada”. “It’s been three years without being able to return that trust they have placed in you, and even more so when Granada has made the best in its history in these three seasons“Three seasons in which the rojiblanco team reached the semifinals of the Copa del Rey and made their name known throughout the fields of Europe. Diego Martínez wanted the group to travel in its entirety, so Neyder was part of the Granada expedition on those trips.”I was with the team traveling around Europe and I suffered, since you have that impotence of not being able to be on the pitch and fight with your teammates. I really enjoyed it, although it would have been better with an audience“.
Asked about the relationship with the former Atletico coach, the Colombian confesses that he felt “one more”, since “he was here every day, working and close to the group”. Lozano is very “grateful” to Granada CF. “It wasn’t easy for the club or for me, but I’ve always felt supported by them and by the dressing room. Being remembered as a fighter is my reward“.
In relation to the current season and the poor results of the team during this 2022, in which they have not yet achieved victory, the defender shares that “It is being a complex season, not only for us. There have been changes in our team, which has involved different ways of playing, different preparations… We lost that stability that we had gained in recent years. The squad is still almost the same as it was the past two years and I trust the work of my teammates”.
Finally, he highlighted the work of his teammates in defense, both Domingos Duarte and Torrente, highlighting his “personality and mettle”, and left a message of hope for the future: “I am very grateful to the fans for their support in these difficult times. The day I step foot on the pitch again, I’ll be like a little kid with a new toy.. I know that the physios and teammates will be very happy as I have fought a lot for that moment. I dream of playing again and feeling like a footballer again.”
