Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas has admitted to playing through a lot of pain during the 2015-16 season and often needing injections to get him through games.
Navas had an outstanding campaign for Madrid, being one of their standout players over the course of a topsy-turvy year which ended with Zinedine Zidane's side lifting the Champions League trophy.
Once the club season ended, Navas underwent surgery to deal with a long-term tendonitis problem in his heel, meaning he missed out on Costa Rica's participation in the summer's Copa America Centenario in the United States.
Speaking to Marca, the ex-Levante and Albacete shot-stopper said he had "got used to" playing through pain to keep going during the club season with Madrid.
"In the end I got used to the pain, and it seemed it was not so much," Navas said. "I was controlling it, although I played with a lot of pain. When we did the tests you could see the decision [to operate before the Copa America] was the best for my health. It was a difficult year, I got used to the pain, although it is the not the recommended thing to do. Once the season was over, the problem had to be stopped at the root."
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¡@NavasKeylor ya se recupera en la #RMCity! #HalaMadrid https://t.co/cqJTQ6nJU6
- Real Madrid C. F. (@realmadrid) June 14, 2016
Navas said he had played many games with pain-killing injections, and was rested from time to time, as seen with back-up Kiko Casilla coming in for home matches against Eibar and Valencia during the last weeks of the season.
"Many times I had to take treatment," he said. "I had games with a lot of pain, but I made a big effort. You always want to play, although when I did not play it was because I was honest and said I could not. There were moments in which I needed a rest to be able to be stronger for the following game."