The next day, almost every sports platform back home reported the team’s success against Senegal. The players were showered with praise, and most of the analysts back home also came out to say one word or two to join the fun.
They also talked about a lot of things that weren’t related to the final result directly, like the incident that resulted in four red cards, the injury storm that the team suffered, and how Kumiko took over the game. Of course, that meant Kageyama-sensei couldn’t escape the wave of criticism from the media due to his poor management skills in the team.
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While the report that praised the team was still way more than the criticism, this was definitely a slap on the face for the head coach. No one really questioned him for losing his temper, but everyone pointed at him for letting so many key players get injured in this tournament. Hell, some of the teams also called him all night, inquiring about their players’ situation while also giving their piece of mind to the man’s ears.
Still, for all the storm raging outside, the players didn’t really get bothered by them. No, even though they won the game, they knew that a huge ton of problems were still waiting for them to solve.
Also, a day after the game was a sabbath day. No one really wanted to think of any complicated things on this rare rest day. Instead, they all gathered in front of the hotel for something they had discussed yesterday. They were going to visit their friends in the hospital, looking for their injured teammates.
"So, have we all been here already or is there anyone who still hasn’t arrived yet?" Morita asked while checking his watch.
"I think that’s it, Morita-san," Mamoru reported. "19 people, all the healthy players are here. Let’s go!"
Once they made sure that no one was left behind, everyone started their little trip immediately. They took a quick walk, since the hospital was quite close to the hotel. With only 10 minutes of walking, they arrived quickly, and there, some of the staff had already been waiting for them. Soon enough, they finally met the first injured player here, Yuki Kobayashi.
"Hey, Yuki! How are you doing?" Ayumu Seko asked his friend immediately, scanning the boy intently from head to toe. "Is the injury bad? How long would it take for you to get back?" He fired the questions so quickly without letting the others have any chance to do that first.
The rest also gathered around the crib, waiting for the defender to answer the question.
"Well, it is nothing bad, just a slight strain that isn’t serious. I should be able to walk again tomorrow or two days later, and Sensei said that I could start my training in a week. However, for safety, it is better to wait ten days or even two weeks before I start again, but overall, everything is okay."
The boys let out a deep, relieved sigh once they heard that. Even though Kobayashi was already out of the tournament with that injury, at least the boy’s situation wasn’t bad enough to jeopardize his career. This news was a good start for their little trip today.
Then, they came to Nakamura’s room, and the boys were hit by a depressing atmosphere instantly. Unlike Kobayashi, who was just chilling in his crib while playing with his phone, Nakamura just stared at the ceiling with an empty gaze, as if he had just lost a part of his soul. The boys looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say.
His situation is bad." The staff who accompanied the boy whispered softly. "The doctor said that he would need surgery and it would take at least four to five months for him to recover, which will be bad for his career. He has just entered Gamba Osaka’s main roster a few weeks ago, and this will push him back to the bench again."
Silence followed as everyone looked at the boy in pity. However, at this point, no one knew what to say to him. After all, they were not in the position to console the boy, not when they were healthy and didn’t have any injury in the crucial moment in their career like this.
In the end, they still stayed for a moment and tried to chat with him a little bit, but the boy was so unresponsive that it sent a chill down the boys’ spines. Once they were out of the room, a long sigh could be heard all over the place, as the atmosphere inside was indeed quite depressing.
"Damn, this is grim!" Tagawa couldn’t help but curse. "I didn’t know his situation would be this bad. I mean, he didn’t show that much of a reaction in the last game, right?"
The rest just nodded quietly as they remembered the game yesterday. Miki Yamane also felt guilty here, since he was the one who said to Nakamura that they had to defend that side even if they had to die. It was a rhetorical speech, but who would’ve thought that the boy would put it in his heart like that?
After that, they went to Sugawara and Ito. Fortunately, their situation wasn’t really that bad. The former only needed two to three weeks of recovery, and the latter himself had already had the bandage covering his face taken off by the doctor. The captain was ready to go, and the only thing preventing him from going to the pitch was the coach’s instruction.
Still, when the boys visited his room, the captain was more than ready to go for a war, saying, "For all of our injured players who cannot be with us, we have to fight harder than anyone else! Let’s go as far as possible and aim for the top!"