Alan Pattullo
Dundee winger Javier Artero, diagnosed
as suffering from multiple sclerosis in August, has spoken for the first
time about his prognosis, with the player eyeing a return to training as
soon as next month.
Artero, back in his Spanish homeland,
says he has recovered well from the disease of the nervous system, which
struck him down on the eve of the new season. However, he admits to fears
regarding ever being able to recapture the form that made him such a favourite
at Dens Park, with the disease having ravaged his body in its early stages.
"I felt very bad at the onset of
the disease," the 26-year-old recalled. "I didn’t know what the matter
was with me, whether I had a tumour or something similar. I suffered some
terrible dizzy spells and I was unable to move my eyes. What happened to
me was bloody awful."
However, inspired by the level of
support he has received from not just the Dens Park club’s fans, but everyone
in Scottish football, Artero is determined to make his comeback by the
end of this year in the dark blue of Dundee.
"Thankfully it has turned out to
be the mild form of sclerosis rather then the degenerative variety," he
continued. "It affected my optic nerve and the feeling in my right hand,
but not my motor nerves. I am now over the worst and feel very well. I
have been able to walk around and I plan to start doing runs on Tuesday."
Artero’s last games for Dundee were
in the Intertoto Cup against FK Sartid of Yugoslavia, the player having
returned early from honeymoon with new wife Deborah in order to prepare
for the June fixtures. He has become something of a folk hero to the Dundee
support, signing for a then-record fee of £300,000 from Argentine
club San Lorenzo last year.
A popular figure in the dressing
room, Beto Carranza, a winger on the opposite flank, has taken to wearing
Artero’s jersey below his own, so that when the player returns "it will
seem like he has never been away". This might be sooner than expected.
"The hospital is due to discharge
me on 25 September, and I hope to go back to Scotland in the first week
in October, even though I don’t want to set myself any deadlines," Artero
said.
He did, though, express some caution,
with the nature of the disease such that you can never truly say it have
been overcome. "My one fear is that I will not be able to return to playing
as I did before," Artero, a lightning fast winger, admitted. "Nobody knows
whether I will suffer another outbreak. But thanks to a new drug, the chances
of it not returning are very good."
With manager Ivano Bonetti having
already stated his squad is too small, the addition of Artero would be
a blessing, though a club spokesman said the decision regarding his return
will be left entirely up to the Spaniard and his doctors.
However, Dundee have moved in the
transfer market in the wake of Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat to Celtic, tying
up two further Argentines on three-month contracts. One, Beto Naveda, is
no stranger to the city, having been released by Dundee United at the end
of last season.
Naveda’s fellow-countryman Lucas
Gatti has also joined Dundee, and both will be added to the squad for this
weekend’s trip to Kilmarnock. But one player who will not be involved in
Ayrshire is centre-half Chris Coyne, who yesterday moved to Luton Town
for a £50,000 fee.
Tuesday, 18th September 2001
The Scotsman