Mallorca manager Javier Aguirre criticises own player for 'going too fast' in injury recovery

Javier Aguirre is undoubtedly one of the biggest characters in Spanish football at the moment. The Mallorca head coach is known for being outspoken on topics, and it appears that this also includes his own players.

Aguirre revealed in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s match with Real Sociedad that right-back Pablo Maffeo is recovering very well from his knee injury – but almost too well. He believes that the Spanish-Argentine player is pushing himself too much in order to be back available as quickly as possible, as per Estadio Deportivo.

“Maffeo is going too fast, he is not within the times that were scheduled and we are scolding him because he should not be running yet. He’s starting to run now, but against our will.

“It is true that the one who knows his body is himself. I always say that there is no one way to measure pain. It’s true that the knee is better, he has good muscles… Then he says what prevents him from running except the experience of the doctors. We’re slowing him down, but his recovery is going very well.”

Aguirre certainly has a point in his words. While Mallorca would love to have Maffeo back as soon as possible, there is a big risk with him returning ahead of schedule that he could make things much worse. It’s probably wise to slow down his recovery for the time being.