The former FC Augsburg defender feels the physical harm he suffered whilst training with the Spanish giants main team did a lot of disservices to him during his time with the record UEFA Champions League holders as then a teenager
Former Ghana international defender Daniel Opare has revealed that injury prevented him from playing for Real Madrid first team since joining up with them from Ghanaian outfit AshantiGold SC in 2008.
Following a remarkable 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament with the Ghana U17 squad, the then teenage sensational right-back was quickly snapped up by Los Blancos for their Real Madrid Castilla setup.
However, his promising talent saw him train with the first team several times and was about to make his debut in the La Liga contest, but only for him to break his metatarsal in their final training session before the match.
Recounting his ordeal in an interview, the 35-year-old feels the injury setback did a lot of damages to his career with the Santiago Bernabéu outfit as he never had the opportunity to play with the senior team in the top-flight before parting ways with them in 2010.
He told Joy Sports: ''There were a lot of red cards and then injuries in the Madrid team. So I started training with the first team a long time ago. When that opportunity came, I thought, 'okay, this is it' because looking at that week, I was training with the team that was going to play the match. So I got the ball from the right-back, I took the ball at pace, I pushed it, and then it was like a pull and fall. I wanted to cross it.''
He continued; ''I was about to cross the line, and with the speed at which I crossed the ball and was landing, I twisted my ankle, but I didn't have pain in my ankle. I rather broke my metatarsal. I suffered a fracture. There was nothing I could do, and the only option was to undergo surgery."
Before he hanged up his boots, Opare had spells with CS Sfaxien, FC Porto, Standard Liege, Besiktas, FC Augsburg, RC Lens, Royal Antwerp, Zulte Waregem and RFC Seraing.
On the international scene, he boasts of 19 caps with the Ghana national football team, the Black Stars.
