Irene Oguiza: a long road to recovery

Young Athletic Club Women midfielder Irene Oguiza has had to start over again from the beginning. In January 2020, Oguiza was handed her first-team debut by then head coach Ángel Villacampa. However, two weeks later, she suffered a serious knee injury in her first start.

It was February 2 and Oguiza was 24 minutes through the match against Deportivo Abanca in Galicia when she heard a click. Oguiza had already damaged the cruciate ligament in her right knee in 2016, so she immediately knew something was not right.

Her family were there to witness her big day. And although Athletic won, for Oguiza it was the beginning of a long spell on the sidelines.

The pandemic broke out in March, just after she’d had her operation. Oguiza spent all her time in confinement working hard to get back into shape. She was desperate to win back her place in the reserve team and little by little she started getting more minutes under then manager Iraia Iturregi.

Oguiza made her comeback appearance for the ‘B’ team in November, managing to scored a goal and not long later in the derby against Osasuna she bagged a brace.

With Iturregi having taken over the senior side, Oguiza started in Badajoz against Santa Teresa. A year after a terrible injury, the talented youngster is back where she started, straddling the line between the reserves and the first team.