Rodado: We have to accept this draw

Ángel Rodado is a crucial piece of coach Alberto Rude's puzzle. On Saturday, for the first time since his shoulder injury, the Spaniard appeared on the pitch to help his teammates in their match against local side Wisła Kraków.

The player worked hard to return to action quickly after his injury. Can we say he's overcome the injury? "Yes, I think I'm 100 percent ready to play and I'm capable of giving that much to the team," he began. "We talked about it practically all week. After the work I put in during rehabilitation, I slowly started training again, and we added more elements, including those related to contact with opponents. Of course, at first, it didn't look the same as before the injury, but the most important thing was that I felt better and better every day, and in the end, we decided I could play in this match," he said.

Unusually, Ángel Rodado played number ten in the match against the Oilers. How did he feel playing that position on the pitch? "For me, it's a position I can play in, as long as the coach decides I'm needed. I like playing both number ten and number nine, and I can play anywhere. Well, maybe only if the coach told me I had to play as a goalkeeper, then I'd say, 'I'm sorry, but I can't do it.' But seriously, I trust the coach, and if he says I have to play as an attacking midfielder, I'll play," he continued.

A draw against Wisła Płock is a result that could ultimately help the White Star in their fight for promotion. How does the Spaniard feel about it? "Looking at how this match went, we have to accept the draw. After all, we were losing almost until the very end. Of course, we wanted to win this match and tried everything to make it happen. However, we played away against a really good team, Wisła Płock – they are our direct opponents in the fight for promotion. So, despite everything, this draw isn't so bad, because we have at least one point from it," he said. The striker still believes that the Kraków team will secure a spot in the Ekstraklasa competition. "If I didn't believe that, there would be no point in going out on the pitch in the next match. Yes, I believe in this promotion, I believe in this team 100 percent! Nobody said it would be easy, but I repeat – I believe 100 percent that we will eventually do it!" he assured.

After a yellow card break, Jesus Alfaro will return for the next match. So where will we see Ángel Rodado? "We'll see what the coach comes up with. I think his job is really, really difficult in that regard. You have a lot of players in the squad, and you have to make decisions. It's easier for a footballer in that regard because he's given tasks and he just has to execute them," he commented.