Owen Wijndal did not finish the Conference League match between AZ and Jablonec (1-0) on Thursday. The AZ left back was substituted thirteen minutes before time and was then caught by the cameras when he put an ice pack in his pants. Kenneth Perez asked himself in the studio of ESPN laughing whether Wijndal has had a ‘tough evening’, but he denies that: Wijndal does indicate that it is sensitive around his pubic area.
“Just in a good place”, Wijndal responds with a laugh when asked where he left the ice bag. “A bit around the pubic area, because it’s been a bit sensitive there lately. That’s why I have it there. I get that it looked funny.” Wijndal did not finish the last three games and was taken off on Sunday against Go Ahead Eagles (5-0 win) in the break. “We play a lot of games in a short time. I just want to play as long as possible and a whole season. I hope to be able to play a lot against SC Cambuur and to rest during the international match.” Wijndal missed the preparation and the start of the new season due to a groin injury, so he is now looking after himself well.
Where was that ice pack, Owen? ???? pic.twitter.com/4tMC2EzcDB
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) September 30, 2021
In the studio, Kees Kwakman says he hopes Wijndal will not get a serious injury in his pubic area, as happened to himself in his career. Kwakman was struggling with an inflamed pubis. “It was very annoying in the end. I eventually had to be operated on,” he looks back. “You’re going to get porridge and wet, with pills and a syringe in it. In the end I just had to go under the knife. That can be a very annoying injury, your pubic bone or your abdominal muscle, because you do everything with it. I hope it doesn’t hurt him.” the case is.”
Wijndal saw that AZ played sloppy in the first half. “We had a hard time getting through and there were also spaces, but we were just too sloppy, so we kept making the transition and had to sprint back thirty to forty meters. There were opportunities, but next time we have to play that better. We didn’t do very different things after the break, but we did say at halftime that the carelessness had to be removed in order to win,” said the defender, who ultimately thought the victory deserved.