Jesus: This is the worst injury of my life; hope to go to the World Cup with Brazil

Hupu News on October 30 Jesus finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel. He has been sidelined since January when he injured his anterior cruciate ligament in the FA Cup. Recently, he accepted an interview with Arsenal's official website and talked about various topics surrounding him.

How do you feel now? Are you close to making a comeback?

Yeah, man, I feel great. My knee responded really well, so now I'm looking forward to getting back with the team again soon and getting back to doing what I love, which has been way too long.

How did you stay motivated during the tough times in the past?

is my family, but first and foremost God. God gave me this challenge, and I believe that if God allowed me to be hurt like this, it was because the Lord knew I was strong enough to come back, accept the challenge, and face it. And then obviously my wife, my kids, my mom, my family, my friends, my brothers. They all give me a lot of confidence, and my wife helps me a lot every day.

What was your recovery process like? Have you returned to Brazil?

Yes, I went back several times. The first time was a few weeks and I spent most of the summer there after that, but it wasn't a vacation! I'm training every day, but it's great to be back home because we had another baby in the summer. We happened to be in our hometown of São Paulo at the time, so it was great to be able to spend that time with my family.

If you asked me if I wanted to get hurt, I would say no, never. But like I said, I think it's all planned by God. That's what I believe in because I'm at my best when I'm injured. I was scoring goals, I was playing well, I was getting my fitness back, my confidence back, everything was getting better, and then the injury happened. I didn't mean it that way at the moment it happened, I was depressed, but a few weeks later I realized what was happening and I had to use that time to enjoy time with my kids and prepare myself for a full return.

Looking back to when you were injured, you were in great shape.

I always believed in myself. Since I came here, I have experienced some difficult moments, but I have also had great moments here. I played a lot of games at that time and was in good shape. Even in games where I wasn’t scoring, I was stretching the space and making runs. But unfortunately I suffered some injuries that were out of our control.

But this was the worst injury I've ever had in my life, and it happened at my best moment. I mean I prepared well, felt relaxed, ate well, slept well, recovered well, and then it happened. That's why I say we can't predict it.

During your injury, did you watch every game, or did you choose to stay away?

It's hard, like I said, it's so long, so you have different stages. In the beginning, like the first two or three months, I wasn’t really close to the team. But I watched the games, at first I didn't go there but I would watch them at home, and then after a few months I went back to training and was around the team more.

My schedule is different than the other players, but I see the players every day, so I stay involved. Most of the time they're traveling or training early or late, so I'm not always with them, but I'm always communicating with my teammates. Anything I can do to help the team while I'm injured, I'm willing to do.

You are 28 years old now. Do you think injuries have changed you?

Yeah, 100%, in terms of my personal life and the way I look at things off the court. I was at the best moment of my career. I have every aspect of my life taken care of and feel absolutely great. I mean, I'm doing a lot better than I did when I was younger. But despite this, I still had this injury. So now I know that my previous efforts were never enough. You have to take more care of yourself and you have to deal with it smartly to get through the season. That's what I'm thinking now, I need to be in control because I'm a player who always goes out and gives 100%. If you don't control it properly, things can go wrong.

So when you come back, will your mentality be different?

I think my mentality will be the same - eager to win. I am a winner and that will never change. I go out there to win games.

The 2026 World Cup is coming soon. Have you considered the national team?

As a player, I hope to return to the team, compete, and then be called up by the national team. I've been to two World Cups, so of course I want to go to the third one. But it won't be easy. We have a lot of good players, a fantastic squad and the World Cup is so short. Time is running out, but I believe in myself. Once I get back playing, I'll do whatever I can to be a part of it.