“Hero’s injury is serious and he may miss all the remaining games!”

“Hero is actually fine. Racing with Sharapova is proof of that…”

“Sharapova updated her Facebook yesterday, writing: ‘I hope Hero recovers soon.’ I don’t think I need to say more about their relationship, but what does this information reveal? That is, Chen Hero’s injury is indeed not light, and he needs to pray for a ‘speedy recovery’!”

……

These compiled news reports were placed on the desk of Gazzaev, the head coach of CSKA Moscow.

During this period, he had been puzzled by the question of whether Chen Hero was really injured or faking it, and he had spent even more effort on this than on football tactics.

This wasn't putting the cart before the horse. For him, understanding Chen Hero meant understanding Zenit, and containing Chen Hero meant containing Zenit.

Now, the first question he had to figure out was—is Chen Hero really injured!

In the past week, news reports had been emerging one after another, and they were often contradictory. Yesterday, they said that Chen Hero was definitely going to miss all the remaining games of the season, and today the same media outlet said that Chen Hero's injury didn't seem to be a big problem, and he would appear in the game against CSKA.

These news reports were giving Gazzaev a massive headache.

He originally thought that the news of Chen Hero racing with Sharapova could prove that he was fine, but then in Zenit's away game against Standard Liège in the UEFA Cup qualifiers, Chen Hero wasn't even on the roster. Then yesterday, Sharapova prayed for Chen Hero on Facebook, hoping that he could recover as soon as possible.

What did this mean?

Gazzaev wasn't a fool.

After analyzing it over and over again, he felt that Chen Hero was really injured, but he didn't know how serious the injury was. He just felt that it shouldn't be the kind of injury that could be healed with two days of rest. Even if he could recover in time for the game against us, it would probably be a stretch.

Let's not consider him for the time being…

Gazzaev made up his mind.

※※※

While Gazzaev felt that it was unlikely that Chen Hero would recover in time for the game against his team, Chen Hero was calling Sharapova.

"Thank you," Chen Hero said.

Sharapova laughed, "What are you thanking me for? This matter is actually my responsibility. I almost ruined your plan, so naturally I have to make some compensation…"

After that incident, she realized that her one night of indulgence had put Chen Hero and Advocaat's plan in a very dangerous situation, so she made the move of leaving a message on Facebook, wishing Chen Hero a speedy recovery. Such a message would naturally be noticed by the media who had been paying attention to her relationship with Chen Hero, and then through the media's mouth, they would tell the head coach of CSKA Moscow—the Chen Hero you're worried about is indeed injured, and it's very likely that he won't be able to recover in time for the game against you…

Chen Hero didn't know if this method would work, but seeing Sharapova taking the initiative to help him, he still wanted to express his gratitude.

"You, uh… how's your injury?" This time it was Chen Hero's turn to care about Sharapova, although his concern seemed a little awkward and unnatural.

Humans are really strange creatures.

When others are constantly saying in your ear: "You and her are a couple. You and her are lovers. You two are boyfriend and girlfriend. You are very close, so you must be lovers…" It seems that you will really have a more cordial feeling towards the other person.

So now Chen Hero actually took the initiative to care about Sharapova… Although he wasn't very used to it.

"It's okay, the recovery is going smoothly. I think I can recover for the Australian Open next year." Since adjusting her mentality, Sharapova felt that her injury was gradually moving away from her, and she could feel progress every day, which made her feel very happy. Sometimes she would think—Hero's self-regulation method is really useful!

"Well, although I don't watch tennis… but I still wish you a speedy recovery. You are the one who needs a speedy recovery."

Sharapova laughed on the other end of the phone. "Thank you, Hero. I still remember the crooked poem you recited to me, ha!"

"What crooked poem? That's my life's insights based on my feelings!"

"Is your life's insights full of swear words?"

"That's my style, what's wrong with that?"

For these two people, tenderness never seemed to last for more than three minutes, and their mouths started fighting again…

However, Sharapova still had a smile on her face. She enjoyed this kind of bickering with Chen Hero. There was no deep hatred, but more like… a couple's quarrel in life, which would only add to the fun and not damage the relationship.

※※※

"It looks like Hero won't be able to play." At the coaching staff meeting of CSKA Moscow, Gazzaev told the coaches the results of his analysis.

"Or rather, the chances of him starting are not high." For the sake of caution, he added another sentence.

Latysh had been frowning all the time. He didn't quite believe that Chen Hero would give up such an opportunity… to slap CSKA's face in public again.

He had been studying Chen Hero for this whole season, and his attention to him had even reached the point of "obsession"—not only would he find and watch every game of Chen Hero's, but he wouldn't even let go of Chen Hero's gossip. He knew every encounter between Chen Hero and Sharapova, he knew what brand of endorsement Chen Hero had signed, and he also knew how many times Chen Hero had gone to nightclubs in St. Petersburg…

When he first knew these things, he was overjoyed, waiting for Chen Hero to decline because of frequenting nightclubs. But he didn't expect this person to be like a monster, completely unaffected by nightclubs, and his state was very stable…

Now he no longer expects to make Chen Hero feel weak in the legs and back pain in the game by going to nightclubs a few times.

It can be said that perhaps he is the one who knows Chen Hero the most among the opponents. But this is not because of "love", but because of… "hate"!

Yes, it's hate. The better Chen Hero performs, the more he looks like a joke. The old story of him rejecting Chen Hero at the beginning will be constantly dug up by the media, using him as a stepping stone for Chen Hero to embark on the road to stardom, a short-sighted villain coach to set off the future football hero. His existence seems to be only to illustrate how awesome Chen Hero is.

Based on his understanding of Chen Hero, he always felt that if this person was really injured, he would not give up this opportunity. He would definitely play with an injury…

Latysh expressed his worries, but Gazzaev just waved his hand: "That's unlikely. The result of the game against us is not a key game that determines the final league title. Advocaat can't take risks in this game. He doesn't need to let Chen Hero play with an injury in this game. What if the injury worsens and what about the next game?"

"Besides, even if he really plays with an injury, how can his state be guaranteed? How much energy can he exert when he is injured? You must know that his style is very dependent on his body. If there is something wrong with his body, his strength will be greatly reduced."

Seeing that head coach Gazzaev was so confident, Latysh couldn't say anything more.

In the final analysis, it was because of Chen Hero. His position in the team is now very low. He is only nominally an assistant coach. Gazzaev doesn't listen to him on many things.

Looking at Gazzaev's confident appearance, Latysh suddenly had a vicious thought—he now expects Chen Hero to start and perform well. Let Gazzaev suffer a little, so that he will re-emphasize his views in the future…

After realizing that this thought contradicted his emotions, Latysh fell into such a contradictory mood—do I want that bastard Chen Hero to perform better? Or do I hope he is really injured?

※※※

After returning from Belgium, Chen Hero could no longer continue to hide in the gym and avoid reporters. If he did, Advocaat would really not put him on the field, because he hadn't practiced with his teammates at all, and his state and tacit understanding would be affected.

Chen Hero reappeared on the training ground and trained with his teammates. This seemed to make the opponents think that Chen Hero's injury had healed and he could recover. But Advocaat had another explanation.

“…Yes, he can now do ball training. But we don't know whether he can play in the game against CSKA. We need to continue to observe…”

Chen Hero simply refused to answer reporters' questions.

"Go find my spokesperson!"

The reporters cursed him in their hearts after hearing these words.

Damn it! You're looking for a spokesperson for this kind of thing. What do you think a spokesperson is? What do you think we are?

The reporters certainly couldn't go to that difficult spokesperson, and Chen Hero was unwilling to accept their interviews.

They could only guess randomly.

In such speculation, the game against CSKA came.

※※※

An hour before the game, St. Petersburg Zenit's starting lineup was freshly released. Chen Hero's name was impressively listed!

Gazzaev could hardly believe his eyes.

He was stunned for a moment and frowned.

Did Advocaat really intend to fight himself to the death at home?

What benefits would this do for them? There are still several rounds of the league ahead!

After seeing Chen Hero start, Latysh was very surprised for a moment, and then he regained his composure.

He now felt that Chen Hero was not injured at all. This was a scam from beginning to end, a scam specifically aimed at them.

St. Petersburg Zenit and Moscow Spartak are only one point apart in the standings. Every game must be won in order to have a chance to reverse the situation in the remaining six rounds of the league and win the championship.

Because there is no chance for them to play against each other, on the one hand, they have to wait for Moscow Spartak to make mistakes, and on the other hand, they have to work hard to win.

For Zenit, Moscow CSKA, the defending champion, is definitely one of the stronger teams in their remaining seven rounds of the league. He has studied Zenit's next opponents, and only CSKA and Moscow FC are considered strong teams ranked at the top. The others are not worth mentioning, and I believe they cannot pose a threat to Zenit, who is determined to sprint for the league title.

If they want to win the championship, they must first defeat us at home.

We originally had a chance to stop them, but now…

※※※

ps, all the updates owed to you so far today have been sent to you. I haven’t written for two days, and I only have 20 chapters left in my stock… But I still want monthly tickets! Even if I owe a lot of debts, I still want monthly tickets!

A man must be ruthless to himself!

So, please! Monthly! Tickets!!!

The double monthly tickets expire at 12 noon tomorrow, and will be invalid after the deadline, so don’t hesitate, smash me!