In an interview yesterday, Kaka sought to dispel the notion that a recurrence of athletic pubalgia caused his physical suffering and taken a toll on his performances. The former footballer of the year has been a footnote in Real’s season with indifferent form and infrequent appearances.
Rather, it is a different injury – a right groin strain, which implicates the adductor muscles.
And contrary to popular belief, he did not sustain it in the Lyon match but the following Saturday when he kicked the ball and felt a groin pain. The injury has kept him out for 40 days. But his goal against Zaragoza signals that he is ready to contribute in a significant way in Real’s quest for glory.
He was also at pains to clear the air with Manuel Pellegrini saying he had nothing to do with the embarrassing Twitter that his agent sent out after the Lyon disaster accusing the manager of “cowardice” .