BVB professional Mateu Morey on his long injury time

Comeback after 469 days

On May 1, 2021, around ten o’clock in the evening, the world of Borussia Dortmund stands still for a brief moment. The semi-finals in the DFB Cup against second division team Holstein Kiel have long since been decided with a score of 5-0. Then, in what was actually a harmless duel, right-back Mateu Morey Bauzà, who had been substituted on just twelve minutes earlier, made a false move, hyperextended his right knee – and almost all ligaments were torn. The young Spaniard’s cries of pain echoed in the empty Signal Iduna Park. As a result, Morey had to undergo two surgeries. The suffering of the 22-year-old lasted 469 days before he was able to make his comeback in a competitive game for BVB’s second team last weekend. The magazine “11Freunde” accompanied Morey and provides insights into the rehabilitation process in the new issue of the U17 European Champion of 2017.

“If it takes a year and a half or two, then so be it. But I’ll be back,” Morey said at the beginning of his ordeal. He watched the video of the injury again and again over the course of time – only to be able to say later: “Today I’m a hundred times better than I was then.” The defensive player from Palma de Mallorca has had to be operated on twice, once on the cruciate ligament replaced with a tendon from the left leg, once to remove scar tissue that had formed. At one point there was even a threat of a third one, but thanks to the work of physiotherapist Peter Kuhnt, the necessary progress in terms of knee flexibility was made in time.

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He initially spent a few months with his family on Mallorca during his rehab. It was “not a vacation, but I always had distractions there,” Morey describes the time. Ultimately, however, BVB asked him to come back to Dortmund: “You want to have more control over what happens. (…) Now I want to lead a professional life again and feel everything that goes with it.” With rehab coach Dennis Morschel, Morey draws up a stage plan to structure the time until a possible comeback.

In an examination at the University of Dortmund in January 2022, doctors even found out why the movement that Morey made in the duel was even possible. “The serious injury was the result of a movement based on misinformation. Information comes from the knee to the brain, and the movement is planned accordingly,” describes “11Freunde” author Christoph Biermann. According to Morschel, however, that didn’t work at the time: “It either received too little information or too bad information.” The muscle on the outside works more than the one on the inside. On the one hand, this entails the risk of muscle fiber tears, and on the other hand, the strength potential is not fully exploited.”

With this knowledge, a training plan can be designed that makes Morey’s right leg much more stable through targeted exercises. Rehabilitation trainer Morschel calls this a “quantum leap”. The following months will be a time of comebacks for the Spaniard: on the training ground, on May 10 in joint exercises with the team, in preparation for the friendly squad and on August 13, more than 15 months after the injury , in the starting eleven in the 3rd division. In the 1-0 win over Rot-Weiss Essen in front of a record crowd of 11,079 fans for BVB II, Morey was replaced by Lion Semic after 45 minutes. The Spaniard makes a good game, attracts attention with offensive actions and does not shy away from duels after the long forced break. In May he wrote on Instagram that he saw the “light at the end of the tunnel”.

BVB fans and team manager Preuss hope for Morey’s comeback in the Bundesliga

TM user “Doc_Gonzo” says in the BVB forum: “Morey played very attentively and with commitment. Just like you were used to from him. Understandably, however, he is still a long way from his old level. He was very good at anticipating several times, was on the ball in front of his opponent and was then only able to blindly pick the ball away. Usually in such situations, he initiates a counterattack with a good first contact or pass. He should be introduced again with appearances in league 3.” Community member “Offensiv84” states: “One of the best stories of this season already. He should take his time. He may be an option in the pro team sooner than expected. Now we have to keep our fingers crossed that he stays healthy and manages many U23 games.”

Dortmund’s U23 team manager Ingo Preuß makes a similar statement (quoted via “Halter newspaper“): “Many didn’t expect him to play again. Mateu didn’t let anything burn defensively. He hasn’t yet had that trait going forward that he will have in the Bundesliga when he’s fit again. He’s a great guy and knows how valuable match practice is to get closer to the pros again. I don’t know exactly yet, but it could be that it wasn’t his last game in the U23s.”

In mid-July, Morey, who states that he has always remained optimistic, says on the club’s own broadcaster “BVB-TV”: “I try to enjoy every moment with the team on the pitch. That makes me very happy. For me it’s a gift. I’m fine, my knee too. I have a good feeling. (…) In my head I’m one hundred percent stronger, I’ve learned a lot. In a few months I will be stronger on the pitch. Now I need a little more time to find the feeling again, after a year it’s difficult. ”Perhaps he will soon be able to experience what he has been denied by the pandemic and the long injury: a mission in front of a sold-out one “Yellow Wall” in the Bundesliga.

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