Zaka: I Had a Groin Tear on Monday, But Played for the National Team Through the Pain

On the early hours of July 7th, in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, the Swiss team was eliminated after a penalty shootout against England. Following the match, Swiss captain Granit Xhaka revealed a secret during an interview – he had been playing injured and leading the team until the very end.

In an interview with Swiss television, Xhaka admitted, “Now I can disclose it, I actually received a diagnosis of a torn adductor muscle on Monday.”

The tough midfielder, currently playing for Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen, continued, “Despite this, I decided to fight for the team. I chose to play through the pain.”

He explained how the injury affected his performance on the pitch: “During the game, I found it difficult to make long passes, and my shooting accuracy was compromised. However, apart from that, I think I managed reasonably well in other aspects.”

Xhaka demonstrated his fighting spirit: “I pushed myself to the limit again today, giving my all for the honor of the nation.”

Although Switzerland drew level with England 1-1 in regular time, they were knocked out with a 3-5 loss in the penalty shootout. Xhaka, who did not participate in the penalties, expressed deep emotions about the outcome: “At this moment, I struggle to find the right words to describe how I feel. But I believe we shouldn’t blame the team or the coaching staff at all. Whether the referee’s decisions were fair or not is now irrelevant. What matters is that each one of us gave our all, and we should be proud of ourselves. It’s just unfortunate that luck wasn’t on our side in the penalty shootout.”