Edinson Cavani may have moved on from Manchester United at the end of last season, but his injury problems have shown no sign of coming to an end.
The striker joined Valencia at the end of August, but has been unable to feature in any of their games since his arrival. He finally made his debut for the La Liga side on Saturday for the visit of Celta Vigo to the Mestalla, featuring for 72 minutes.
But he was nearly selected as a substitute instead of starting for Gennaro Gattuso 's men amid fresh fitness concerns. The Uruguayan had reportedly been working on his fitness levels, but almost missed out on making his first start.
Gattuso revealed after his side's 3-0 win that Cavani requested he only play for 30 minutes against Celta. Obviously, the Italian ignored that request, insisting that the striker was in the perfect condition to start.
"He wanted to play 30 or 35 minutes, but there are players who have conditions to be there from the beginning. "It has been three months without training with a team and it was important the previous work and also to have competition," he said.
"When a 35-year-old player thinks that football is a priority for him, he always helps the teammate, he makes a career more than the rest to train. He has to improve his physical condition as usual, I am happy that he is going to stay with us here [during the international break].
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"He has worked 10 days with us very well and I think to get to his best condition he has to play, play and play. He wasn't entirely convinced to start because of the physical risk, but I'm very happy."
Fitness problems badly derailed the second season of Cavani's United career, with the striker making just 15 Premier League apperances last term. Given Gattuso's admission, it would appear that little has changed, with Cavani disclosing he had a "bitter" feelings when he left United.
“I wanted to contribute more this season. One of the things that has left me with a slightly bitter taste is that when we had a highly enjoyable and pretty decent [2020/21] season, we weren’t able to have the supporters along with us," he said.
“And now, this season, with the fans coming back into the grounds and stadiums, I haven’t really been able to have the kind of campaign, if I’m being honest, on a personal front that I would really have liked.
"Where I would have been able to score the kind of goals I did last season, and then be celebrating them a bit more with the fans - the kind of stuff that it’s great for a forward or a striker to be doing."
“But I want to sincerely thank the fans from the bottom of my heart, because they have always shown me a lot of affection, and that is very important for a footballer.”
