Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has thanked his club's medical team for having worked hard on his fitness, allowing him to recover just in time to feature against Chelsea and complete a full 90 minutes in the match.
The 30-year-old was only given an outside chance of passing a fitness test ahead of the all crucial match against the Pensioners after he suffered from an ankle injury during the FA Cup semi-final against Reading.
However, Mertesacker was not only declared fit to play the match, but completed the full 90 minutes, combining with his other team-mates to keep the league leaders at bay.
And the former German international on his part has given a "huge thanks" to all the people who contributed in making him fit, especially the medical team who, he believes did fantastic work on him.
"It’s a big miracle and I have to give a huge thanks to all the people who contributed, especially our medical team who did a fantastic job to get all the fluid out of my ankle after I twisted it badly", Mertesacker told his club's official website.
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The former Werder Bremen man also took time to add that he had not expected to play just the next week following the injury and so he credited all the people who worked to make it possible for him to feature.
"I didn’t expect to play the following week but I’m happy and I have to give a huge thanks to all who contributed to make it possible for me to feature."
The defender also took time to speak about his performance during the match.
"There was a high intensity from the start and I think we came out with a good tempo."
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