Cabanas keen to play again soon
Reuters - Saturday 13 March 2010, 16:59
MEXICO CITY - Paraguay forward Salvador
Cabanas, speaking publicly for the first time since he was shot
in the head in January, feels almost ready to play football again.
"I'm already kicking a ball, I'm nearly ready," Cabanas, who
has the bullet lodged in his brain, told Televisa in an
interview broadcast on Friday night.
"I still want to play, really, (and) I am happy to be alive
and to have recovered and that very soon we'll be back on the
(football) field," he said.
Cabanas, wearing a black cap, spoke slowly, with a fixed
stare and a lost look in his eyes during the interview at a
rehabilitation centre in Mexico City where he has been since
leaving hospital.
The 29-year-old was shot in the early hours of January 25 in a
Mexico City bar, according to some reports during an argument
over his form and that of his Mexican club America. Police are
on the trail of a suspect.
His surgeon said when Cabanas was moved to the clinic that
his neurological recovery could take several years.
At the end of the interview, Cabanas, a key player in the
Paraguay team that qualified for this year's World Cup in South
Africa, was shown playing table tennis.
"Football gives you a lot of things and I still want to
play. Right now, I'd love to (leave the clinic), I'd go home,
see my two kids and play a while with them," he said.
Cabanas sent "a big greeting to all of Paraguay and
Paraguayan fans. In a short time we'll be back on the pitch. A
big greeting to Mexican fans."
At the World Cup finals in South Africa starting on June 11,
Paraguay will meet holders Italy, Slovakia and New Zealand in
group F.
Follow FFT.com on Twitter
Join FFT.com on Facebook