Thread by @AlexandraJonson

IS BRUNO FINALLY BACK?

The Villarreal captain (he is still the captain right?) has been out injured for THREE YEARS (!), but has been training and is travelling to Granada with Villarreal and Calleja says they will then see if he is fit enough to enter the match squad!

https://twitter.com/villarrealcf/status/1273544969408692224

So for those of you who don't know who Bruno Soriano is, here's a bit of background story:

Bruno is 36 years old, he's spent his entire career at Villarreal and he hasn't played a match in over three years since the 21th May 2017. But before that he was REALLY good!

He came to Villarreal when he was 16 but he didn't stay long, he didn't feel he was good enough. So he returned to the small village he's from, Artana, started working in the mine and only played football for fun with his mates.

But Villarreal didn't give up on him.

In fact Juan Carlos Garrido thought he was so good he went to Artana and didn't give up until he had convinced Bruno to return. And he did, two years after he had left.

And it gave instant rewards as Bruno captained the B-team to a historic promotion to Segunda B

In his first season with the first team he played 21 matches as they took their best ever league finish, ending 2nd. There was Champions League history written too and Bruno got his national team debut for Spain.

Villarreal received many offers from big clubs, but Bruno didn't leave. Not even when they in 2012 were relegated to the second division. Player after players left - Bruno stayed. Despite being told not playing in the 1st division would lose him his spot in the Spain squad

With most of the players having left Bruno now captained a team of new players, mainly from the clubs B-team. And he did it in an impressive fashion as he brought them back to LaLiga in just one season, and already the first season back Villarreal made it to Europe

A one club man who time after time showed he'd do anything for Villarreal. A player who wouldn't leave the pitch even if they had to bring him off on a stretcher. Asked what his biggest dream was he didn't answers winning the World Cup he said "To win a title with Villarreal"

No one has played more matches for Villarreal in history, 317, than Bruno. But it's now gone over 3 years since he last played. He had been playing with pain in his knee for awhile and hoped that the summer break would make it better when it didn't he was forced to surgery

doctors removed some bone spurs and he was expected to play again in 3 months, he didn't, 2years later he went in for another surgery addressing the patellar tendon in his left knee, there was no recovery date given but there was a point when it looked like he was making a return

But again it never happened.

Before this injury Bruno had played an average of about 40 games per season for almost ten years and his brother have told AS that these 3 years have been "hell for everyone" to a point where they don't talk about football in the family anymore

Bruno's contract ends at the end of this season so time is running out. But lately he has been back training with the rest of the team and is flying to Granada with them, with Calleja opening up for the possibility of him in the match squad... could a comeback finally happen?

It would be quite some story and after everything Bruno has done in his career for Villarreal he deserves to end it all on the pitch and not outside it!

It's gone three years, he is 36 years old, still Bruno has not given up - that says a lot!