Tomas Rosicky says his latest injury has been "a very tough pill to swallow" but vowed to everything to come back and play for Arsenal again.
Rosicky injured his thigh just minutes after coming on as a substitute in Arsenal's win over Burnley in the FA Cup last weekend. That was his first appearance of the season after injuring his knee last June, and he now faces up to three more months on the sidelines, Arsene Wenger said on Friday.
In an interview with Arsenal's official website, a visibly downcast Rosicky said it's been a difficult thing to accept.
"I still can't believe what actually happened, even though it's almost been a week. I was well prepared for my comeback, and we didn't underestimate anything. The physios and fitness coaches did a good job in putting me back on the pitch. But unfortunately, one moment put me back to the sidelines again," the veteran midfielder said.
"Unfortunately I have a quite significant thigh strain and I will be out for a while again. It's a very tough pill for me to swallow right now. I worked very hard for that moment, and it was very quickly gone."
That 20-minute appearance against Burnley may have been Rosicky's last in an Arsenal shirt as he is out of contract in the summer, and faces a race against time to be fit before the end of the season. The Czech Republic international is Arsenal's second-longest serving player after Theo Walcott, having joined the club in 2006, and was given an overwhelming reception from fans when he started warming up at the Emirates on Saturday.
"It was unbelievable, something I didn't expect. Since the moment I started to warm up on the sidelines it was exceptional. Quite honestly, I had tears in my eyes after such a long time being out," Rosicky said.
"For me it's heartbreaking that I cannot give them anything back after the reception that they prepared for me. But in life, things will be thrown at you and you have to deal with it. You are defined by how you deal with things, and I will deal with it again, and I will be back."
While the injury happened within minutes of coming on, Rosicky didn't tell Wenger about it until after the game since the Arsenal manager had already made all three of his substitutions. The midfielder said the injury was the result of a series of unfortunate circumstances, rather than him not being ready physically.
"I think I was extremely unlucky this time. At the moment I wanted to cross the ball I slipped a little bit, and the ball moved slightly below my foot so it was not in the position to be crossed. And in that moment I spotted that my teammate had made a good run so I wanted to do everything really, really quickly. All these three [factors] in one moment meant that this injury happened.
"Twenty minutes in a game like that, it should be really easy in comparison to everything that I have behind me, what I have done on the pitch already. I just feel I have been very unlucky at this moment. But unfortunately sometimes it's like this and I have to face it and go through this spell again."
Even if he can't play for Arsenal again, the 35-year-old Rosicky still wants to captain his country at this year's European Championship in France, and he is now getting ready to tackle another rehab process.
"For a few days it was very hard for me to accept," he said. "Honestly I don't know what more I could have done. I have always come back from everything that has been thrown at me, and I will come back again. I will not give up. Simply I will make it once more, I have to find the strength to make it. I will find it, and I will be back again."