Athletic Bilbao Striker Inaki Williams Played With Glass Shard In His Foot For 2 Years

Athletic Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde was left impressed by the dedication of Inaki Williams, who had played with a shard of glass in his foot over the past two years.

Williams could have set a great example of consistency when he once featured in 259 consecutive matches in a stretch. Now, the Ghana international is forced to take a break from football.

He recently underwent surgery after discovering the presence of glass in his foot, and will be unavailable for the rest of the season.

Inaki Williams first started feeling discomfort from his leg issue after the Bilbao-based club secured the Copa del Rey title earlier in April this year. He immediately went for a scan and the doctors noticed a shard of glass under his skin, near a bone or tendon. It was inserted when Williams sustained an injury due to an accident two years ago. Williams was unaware of the details of the surgery during the recovery process.

The footballer kept the story under the wrap before Ernesto Valverde brought it to light during the press meet.

The Spanish coach said, “Inaki Williams has broken a record for consecutive games played and has won a Copa del Rey while having a two-centimetre glass stuck in the sole of his foot. It’s amazing, but it’s like that. He has given me permission to tell this story because it is worth telling. For a few months, he was reporting discomfort in his scar.”

“He (Inaki) was undergoing treatment and after the Copa del Rey final he had an MRI and he still had a glass stuck in the sole of his foot. When they stitched him up [two years ago], they left a glass of about two centimetres and it was already approaching the bone or a tendon,” Valverde added.

When Inaki Williams first shared the story, the Atheltic Bilbao boss and even the doctors couldn’t help “laughing” as “they couldn’t believe it.” In a recent Instagram story, Williams shared a picture where the 29-year-old could be seen having a glass shard on his palm.

Athletic Bilbao will miss the service of Inaki Williams in an away La Liga fixture against Rayo Rayo Vallecano, scheduled for May 25. They have already earned qualification for next season’s Europa League with a fifth-place finish.