He came close to the worst on May 28, 2023. On a pilgrimage to Andalusia, Sergio Rico decided to take time with his loved ones after winning PSG’s eleventh French championship title. Unfortunately, the victim of a serious horse riding accident, the Spanish porter was sent to Seville hospital to receive first aid. Placed in a state of absolute emergency, the days of the former Sevilla FC goalkeeper then seemed numbered. However, after a successful operation and three visits to the Andalusian University Hospital, the 30-year-old goalkeeper was able to leave the hospital and resume an almost normal life without serious consequences.
Now ready to return to football in the near future, Rico was asked about this painful period at the PSG microphone: “I’m doing well. Thank God, my convalescence is going rather well even though I am still under close medical care. But the doctors still decided that I could go home so that I could do this first phase of recovery here at home. I’m already happy about that, being able to be at home, with my family with my wife Alba and my friends. So I’m happy. Little by little, I see that I am progressing. Every day I see that things are improving, I feel a little stronger. Of course I still can’t do sports but other than that I’m fine. To be honest, I don’t remember the moment of the accident, nor the days that followed when I was in a coma in the hospital. I was asleep and unconscious. On the other hand, since I woke up and started to feel better, I remember everything perfectly. And then of course, I remember everything that happened before the accident. Now the goal is to continue to move forward, to progress every day. I feel better and better, stronger and stronger, I can do more and more things. From now on I hope that I can have a medical green light to return to sport, it’s what I love the most and what I most want to get back to.»
His goal ? Enjoy playing football again
During this complicated period for him and his loved ones, several of his teammates or his opponents sent him warm messages of support. Something he only realized later: “In fact, since I don’t remember the accident, nor the period when I was asleep, I would say that I am not really aware of the seriousness of what happened. Then, I was told that my whole family, all my loved ones were in the hospital, that they were all very worried, that when they came to see me some of them were crying. They told me: “So-and-so came, so-and-so was there…” All these things that people tell you help you realize what happened. But since I don’t remember anything about the accident, I’m not really aware of what could have happened to me. It’s moving to see all these messages of support. I received messages from all my teammates, club colleagues, the President, Luis Campos, everyone. Everyone in the club sent me messages of support and strength. They took their time, especially during the holidays, during the summer, to send me messages, to support me. It touched me a lot, as did the gestures of my teammates, their goal celebrations, wearing my jersey. We see it on the video, in the locker room, all the jerseys with my name. All of this moves me greatly, it’s an honor and I’m proud to be part of such a family. I also want to thank them all, personally for their messages, for taking their time to support me in this very difficult moment.»
From now on, what will be the future of Sergio Rico? Obsessed with football, the Spaniard directly questioned the doctors to find out if he could, one day, return to football naturally: “The first thing I thought of, to be honest, was football. I was lucky enough not to have any brain problems or memory problems or things like that. When I woke up, I remembered all my loved ones, my family, Alba, my friends, everything. So the first thought was whether I could play football again. I was in my hospital room, lying on a bed unable to move, with cables and IVs all around me and the first thing I thought was, “Am I going to be able to play football again? ”, that’s even the first question I asked the doctors. And I hope the answer is yes. In the end I didn’t do anything else in life other than play football. So it was unimaginable that I would think about anything other than football because in fact I didn’t do anything that wasn’t related to football. That’s why I thought of it straight away.»
While he now seems out of danger, Rico can look forward to his future at PSG and in the world of football. He also gave more details about his short-term future: “In the coming days I have new tests, we will see if the recovery follows the right pace. I hope we will have good news and that the doctors will give me more freedom. I hope that I will be able to do a little sport, or at least start to prepare myself a little physically to then consider returning to the team in Paris. Because in the end that’s what I want. The goal is to return to the team before the end of the season. That’s my main goal, obviously. Football is my life, there is nothing else. I don’t think of anything else. I have always played football and football has given me everything. He brought me the life I have, a beautiful life, a privileged life. That’s why my only goal is to play football again. I hope it will be soon. In any case, I will work hard every day for this, if the doctors allow me. The goal is clear: it is to play again, and I hope it will be this season.
