“If he decides to retire tomorrow, we will respect him” – Garcia Pimienta on Jesus Navas

Last weekend, it was revealed that Jesus Navas has been suffering with a chronic hip injury, with the man himself confirming that this has been ongoing for the past four years. Despite this, he continues to fight for Seville.

Navas signed a new contract with the club in May, although he has set his retirement date for December. After that, he is expected to take a non-playing role in Sevilla.

Navas admitted that he is struggling to get through to December because of the injury. Sevilla head coach Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta hopes to be able to rely on him until then, although he would understand if Navas hung up his boots earlier, as MD.

“We already know the problems he has. He is going to travel, and tomorrow we will ask him how he is. Today he was in pain, but tomorrow he could wake up well.

“He earned the right to decide his future and we have to respect that. He will play until the age of 45, but it is a health problem, he is making an effort, the club is in trouble and what he wants is to help. He set that deadline, he says in his head “I'm going to hold it for 6 months”, it's because he's going to respect it.

It's a huge credit to Navas that he continues to fight through the pain barrier Sevilledespite having nothing else to prove. It would be a nice ending if he had to make it to December.