Oyarzabal, a world champion, back at Zubieta | OneFootball

Mikel Oyarzabal returned to Zubieta on Monday after lifting the World Cup with Spain, and could feature as early as Real Sociedad's opener at Betis on Friday 21 August.

After three weeks off, the captain resumed pre-season work on his own because staff had scheduled a rest day for the squad. According to Diario Vasco, club media showed him in the new Joma training kit before medical tests, with full training due on Tuesday.

Following 21 days of necessary inactivity, his conditioning lags behind team-mates who have trained for a month. Even so, he could be involved in the first game, with his role dependent on readiness to start or come on.

A final friendly is set for Saturday at 15:00 against Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea, a serious examination for Matarazzo’s side after a mixed pre-season. If Oyarzabal features, he is likely to be part of the run of fixtures from 21 August to the first international break. Whether he travels to London will be decided this week based on how he feels, and it looks likely he will take part.

La Real need his quality and leadership. His five World Cup goals drew global attention, perhaps surprising some that a player of that stature remains with the txuri-urdin.

Oyarzabal was also spotted on Saturday at the start of Semana Grande in Donostia. The Eibar native, alongside former team-mate Martin Zubimendi, was received by mayor Jon Insausti at City Hall, though he missed the opening cannon shot.

Source: Diario Vasco

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