Morata: The pain was unbearable, I had to inject myself two or three times a day Premier League The forward speaks about his injury

Alvaro Morata has explained that his 2017/18 season has been made incredibly difficult as a result of a mystery pain in his back.

Now that his fitness issues ae in the past, he wants to move on and think about the FA Cup final, but he took time to reflect on his struggles in an interview with MARCA.

The season is almost over, but you still have objectives?

"Chelsea have the chance to win a title and that's always important. There are a lot of teams that have had a good season and that haven't won anything. In England, the FA Cup is valued a lot. It has been a difficult year for us, yet we can still be champions of something."

The team started well, but then struggled and fell behind in the title race, while losing to Barcelona in the Champions League.

"We had lots of chances in the first leg. If one of the shots from Willian had gone in, then we could have competed. Having won the Premier League and returned to the Champions League, the team should have done better. There's no doubt about that."

There hasn't been much tranquillity with the team either...

"It has been a complicated year for me and I don't think it's been the best year for the team either. I've gone through a tough year. It all started so well. Everybody loved me and I was scoring goals, but it's different now. People say things to me on the street, but they don't know what I've gone through. The person who does know what I've gone through is my wife. I would rather have torn a muscle and be out for three months than not know exactly what I had. I wanted to play and to keep scoring, but I couldn't. I didn't know what I had. The Chelsea doctor did, but we went to see doctors in England and they didn't find that. We went to Germany and what happened there was very difficult for me."

Why do you say that?

"This was a new team and it was all perfect. We'd beaten Atletico Madrid and we were going well in the Premier League, then it all changed. I had to go several times to Germany to receive a treatment in which they put injections in my back. It hurt a lot and then I would have to return to London to train the next day. I think I made a mistake. I should have stopped playing. When you're injured you're injured and that's that. You can maybe play one match, but you can't carry on for a month. On top of that, I didn't have much luck during this time. If I'd scored in one of those matches then something would have changed. The head is in charge and controls everything. The day before playing against West Ham they told me that I was going to become a father. I wanted to play, but I couldn't even move in the warm-ups. I told the doctor to inject me because I had to play. I wanted to dedicate a goal to my future children and, from then on, I entered into a mode where I didn't want to stop because I wanted to demonstrate something. It was all bad."

Did your commitment betray you?

"Yes, that's clear. I have learned from it and I won't do it again. I suffered. I would arrive home from matches and from training and I had to inject myself a couple of times because I couldn't stand the pain. Nobody told me 'you have a tear here or there'. They scanned me in all of my muscles from the gluteus to the back. I'd be eating or dining and suddenly I'd feel sharp pain and have to stop. I couldn't even drive. I wanted to, but nothing. I then returned to play a cup match and it seemed like I was fine and then it returned. I didn't say anything. Only the doctor, the coach and my family knew. I was very complicated."

You still have important challenges before the end of the season, no?

"Of course. The other day I spoke about it with my wife. I had a similar situation at Juventus. I wasn't playing due to the coach's decision and then I scored in the cup final and we won a title. We have the final against Manchester United and if you go and score and earn the victory then the people will remember that, the most recent thing."

Have you thought about the World Cup?

"I would love to go. It's difficult to be in the national team and I didn't go the last time. I knew that was a possibility, not just because of scoring goals or not. The coach knows me and knows what I can bring on and off the pitch, but he knew that my performance wasn't at the required level. I had a great frustration inside of me because of my back.

What do you think about your future at Chelsea?

"I now know what the Premier League is like and what the referees are like. I'm starting to befriend them now in the final stretch of the season because it's the only way for them to call more fouls for you. In the first half of the season it was a crazy thing. I protested a lot. One of them even told me that he knew it was a foul, but that he wasn't going to call it for me. This is the style of the Premier League and the likable one ends up being chosen."

You've been scoring a lot recently or you've been close.

"Yes, I've had four or five ruled out that could have counted. The last one was against West Ham. The number of goals is very important for a forward, but sometimes a striker scores over 30 and the team doesn't win anything. I prefer to score goals and to win titles, which could happen this season. I've earned quite a few points and that's my job. I also know that I could have been better because I have also missed a lot of clear chances. I know I've not been myself. The head fails when you're not well and when you're not balanced mentally. I look back and I see the missed chances and I cannot believe it. I ask myself how I've missed that. One centimetre or two is what makes the difference between being ruined or succeeding."

I can't imagine a World Cup without you...

"I would love to go to Russia. It'd be really tough not to go, but that is a possibility. All of the possible outcomes should be kept in mind. Each person has to do what's best for them. I wouldn't understand it, but you have to be prepared for everything. The joy if you're on the list can be great, but there's a need to realise that the year hasn't been the best and there's a chance of staying at home. Football is about moments. Look at Mohamed Salah, who is fantastic and I'm happy for what's happening to him. But last summer they said it was good for him to be sold and now look. I know my season hasn't been good. If I'd scored 30 goals then I'd say I'm sure of being on the list. Now I have to prepare for any outcome, but I'll fight to go until the last minute."

Do you keep tabs on Real Madrid out of the corner of your eye?

"Not out of the corner of my eye. Of course I look at Real Madrid. I wish them the best and if Chelsea aren't in a competition then I'll be a Real Madrid fan."

You've played for Juventus and Real Madrid. Was it a penalty on Lucas Vazquez?

"I have played with both players and I don't know. I spoke to Lucas Vazquez and he told me that it was a penalty. I trust him, he's my friend."

Have you spoken to Gianluigi Buffon?

"No, you phone the one who wasn't jeopardised by the decision. I spoke to Lucas Vazquez in a joking way and joked to him that he let himself fall, and he told me it was a penalty. So it was a penalty then."