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Confined but conscientious
Melendo, while continuing with his daily routine, sends out a message of optimism: "we will get through this, just as we always have"
Having gotten through a month of isolation, Óscar Melendo admits that he's trying to “make the best” of this new environment, and claims that to do this, "the key is a daily routine".
All these days confined at home are making him aware that "now I make much better use of time" and that he can share it with his family, "even if I can't hug them."
He emphasizes: "you try to remember that this will turn around and try to stay on top form, both physically and mentally." As he points out, "we don't have an exact date" for the return but it's important to "keep waiting while maintaining as much normality as possible".
Oscar says that the hardest thing he's experiencing is seeing "the suffering of people who have lost loved ones" and, where football is concerned, "the lack of space in my apartment", although he does manage to play with his dog on the terrace.
He's sure that some of his teammates testing positive for COVID-19 “has slowed down their training” and reveals that “they are more tired than the rest when it comes to doing exercises. They will need time to regain their fitness levels and be back at 100 percent".
As he sees it, and as footballers from other teams have said, “we all want to compete. We miss it, but to compete we need our health. That's essential." And for that reason, in response to the potential return to competition, he concludes that there's no way of knowing how many weeks will be needed "before we get to group training".
But he does have a message of encouragement for all the Blue and Whites' fans. "We will get through this, just as we always have".