Chapter 1014: Higo’s Injury

"Well, the good news is there are no fractures, and the bone alignment is clean. It’s a bad sprain of the PIP joint, as your collateral ligament took the brunt of that impact." The doctor stated as he watched the result of the X-Ray test.

Higo just nodded along with a blank expression, the explanation flying above his head without even attempting to slip into his brain.

Fortunately, Guzman was here to take notes on everything, allowing Higo to daydream when the explanation was given.

"So, what is the recommendation for the rehabilitation plan? And how long will it take before I can join the training again?" After a while, Higo finally interrupted, having had enough of all the mumbo-jumbo words coming out of those two.

They could talk about all those strange alien medical terms later when he was gone, for sure, but now, all Higo wanted was for him to be allowed to go back as quickly as possible, having already been exhausted by everything that happened today.

The doctor and Daniel Guzman were taken aback by this, but they also knew that Higo’s question was the most essential thing for the players right now.

"Well, since the injury itself isn’t that severe, once the swelling is gone, you might probably be able to join the training session again. However, I will be careful here, as rushing back too fast will risk chronic joint instability or re-injuring it on the very first hard save."

Higo nodded along, but this time, he understood what the doctor said here.

It seemed that his injury wasn’t really that bad, as the moment the visible indicator disappeared, he was allowed to go back into action again.

’At least, nothing internal got hurt, right?’ He chuckled wryly.

"As for the rehabilitation plan, I will give my recommendation to Guzman along with the medication, and you will have to follow it under supervision; probably best if Guzman himself could do it."

The doctor paused for a second after that before asking another crucial question.

"Do you have a driver?"

Higo froze immediately, and in that second, his brain connected to that question, realizing why the doctor asked him that.

After all, he had to rest his injured fingers, but that would make it impossible for him to hold the steering wheel for too long, right?

"I... Can walk to the training ground, I guess?" Higo asked, glancing around at Guzman. "Yeah, I can do that. The distance is not that far, anyway."

"You also don’t have to come to the training ground daily, you know?" Guzman brushed off the concern nonchalantly.

"We can coordinate our schedule in the next couple of days to take turns on where we do the rehabilitation plan. For things that are easier to do, I can go to your flat, and for things that need equipment in the gym, you can just walk like usual. Not a big problem, right?"

Higo finally let out a relieved sigh after he heard that, knowing that all the trivial problems had already been solved.

He waited for a while until Guzman finished the administrative task for him, and once everything was over, the man drove him back to his flat so that he could rest as quickly as possible.

"Don’t play your phone too much tonight! Remember, the best rehabilitation plan is a good sleep and good diet, okay? Also, don’t think too much about the team! They will manage!"

That was Guzman’s last message before he left Higo alone in his own flat.

He didn’t wait for too long, taking a quick shower and changing his clothes immediately to warmer ones. After all, the weather outside was so cold, and getting a better source of heat was necessary here.

Fortunately, the injury was not as bad as the shoulder one that he got last summer. At that time, he couldn’t even move the whole arm, basically crippling him from doing anything essential to survive.

Now, though, he could still take a shower, take off his clothes easily, and do anything that he wanted in his own residence. All he had to pay attention to was the two fingers that were taped, making sure that he wouldn’t put too much pressure on those parts.

After getting dinner for himself, a takeaway that he ordered from a local restaurant nearby, the boy finally checked his phone, and the moment he opened it, it buzzed immediately, and a name popped up on the screen.

’Already?’ Higo couldn’t help but smile wryly.

He accepted the call, though, and in the next second, his girlfriend’s melodious voice rang with a slight panic in her tone, probably having already known about him leaving the game early.

"So, have you done the checkup in the hospital? What is the result?" Kumiko asked, not even beating around the bush.

"It is okay. The doctor said that once the swelling is gone, I could go back to the training session. Around three or four days of rest, if he had to guess." Higo answered honestly, not even hiding a single word that the doctor said earlier.

Silence followed for a second; only the buzzing noises from the call hummed gently in the air.

"...Do you have anyone helping you in your daily life? Should I go there?" Kumiko finally asked as she remembered how hard it was for Higo the last time he got injured.

Higo grimaced a little bit, finding that experience to be embarrassing.

"No, no, you don’t have to." He shook his head unconsciously even when he knew that the girl wouldn’t be able to see it.

"The injury itself isn’t that bad. Hell, I can even take a shower and prepare something from my fridge on my own here. You don’t need to come here, Kumiko-chan. Just focus on your studies, and you will find me back and kicking again a few days later."

Once again, a long pause followed as Kumiko was trying to find a hint of a lie in his tone. After a while, though, the girl finally let out a deep sigh, one that Higo was familiar with, before grumbling grumpily at the boy.

"Fine, I will not go there. However, I require a regular update on your situation, okay?"