Miguel Merino has detailed the Arsenal rehabilitation that helped his son recover from foot surgery and make a decisive impact for Spain.
Mikel Merino’s father has revealed how the Arsenal midfielder recovered from foot surgery in time to play a decisive role in Spain’s run to the World Cup semi-finals.
Merino came into the tournament short on match fitness, having spent most of the final months of Arsenal’s season sidelined by a bone injury in his foot.
Doubts over his World Cup involvement first surfaced after Arsenal’s game against Manchester United, when the true extent of the injury became clear.
Merino had been playing through pain before that match, unaware of just how serious the problem was. He still managed to score, but as his father Miguel explained, he knew something wasn’t right and flagged it to Arsenal’s medical staff.
Further tests confirmed the need for surgery, kicking off a long rehab process that left the family worried he might miss out on another World Cup.
Having missed the previous tournament, Merino faced a race against time to prove his fitness before Luis de la Fuente named Spain’s squad for North America.
Speaking in an interview with AS ahead of Spain’s semi-final against France, Miguel Merino described the uncertainty surrounding the early stages of his son’s recovery.
“When the diagnosis came, we were worried,” he said. “I was worried as well, obviously, because he had already missed the previous World Cup and this was a very good opportunity to be there.
“He had to work very hard, particularly during the first month before he could do any work on the pitch. There was uncertainty over whether the bone would respond well to the operation.”
The first month of recovery kept him off the pitch, with Arsenal closely monitoring how his foot responded to the operation.
Once Merino was back training on the grass, things started to look up. His recovery picked up pace, and he was able to push himself harder without the pain returning.
Miguel was quick to praise both his son’s determination and the Arsenal staff for getting him to the tournament.
“Once that first month had passed and he returned to the pitch, he could see that the ankle was responding well,” he added.
“From that point, everything was very positive and he began shortening the recovery timescale. We trusted him and the work carried out by both him and the professionals at Arsenal. I was convinced that he would make it.”
Merino made his comeback in Arsenal’s final Premier League game of the season, getting about 35 minutes on the pitch.
It wasn’t enough time to fully regain his sharpness, but it gave him a chance to test his foot in a real match before linking up with Spain.
De la Fuente retained faith in a player who has repeatedly delivered under him at international level. The pair previously won titles together at youth level before adding the Nations League and European Championship with Spain’s senior side.
Merino hasn’t been a regular starter at this World Cup, but his impact off the bench has been crucial in helping Spain navigate the knockout stages.
He’s popped up with late, decisive goals against Portugal and Belgium, turning what looked like a tough recovery into a starring role in Spain’s run to the semi-finals.
His performances have more than justified Spain’s patience, even though he arrived at the tournament short on minutes after his spell out at Arsenal.
Now, as Spain prepare for the semi-finals, Merino has put those injury worries behind him and established himself as one of De la Fuente’s most reliable options off the bench.