Dave was expecting the day to be less eventful for him because of what happened yesterday and how he was required to get a lot of rest today but resting only lasted about two hours for him and now he was sitting outside just beside his practice pitch with his arms crossed and a face as long as a fiddle.
However, he wasn't out there to just stare at nothing, it wasn't even his choice to be there.
All he was doing was watching the ball move back and forth in the air as Mateo and Clark nodded it back between each other.
Mateo being there was easy to explain because he wanted to come see the goalkeeper that morning but how did Clark get there that morning?
Well, he tried to get through to Dave last night while he was still out of it.
Emma had to pick up the call and she ended up telling him about what happened to him, he had no choice but to come check up on his friend as soon as possible today.
He got there later after Mateo who had a wholesome alone moment with his sister because Dave was still upstairs.
Dave came downstairs a few minutes after Clark got there and after spending some time inside together they told him to come get some fresh air outside but things turned this as soon as they spotted the balls inside his gym.
Now all he could do was watch them do all that with the ball without being able to join them.
"I thought we were out here on a walk." He commented as soon as Mateo nodded the ball to Clark and he stopped it with his feet before bringing it down.
"Yeah, but you're the one who should be doing that," Clark responded before turning his gaze to him.
"I don't feel like it anymore." The goalkeeper replied before shaking his head.
"Okay," Clark uttered before he turned his gaze back to Mateo and sent the ball flying over to him.
Dave let out a sigh along with a chuckle before slowly raising his gaze to look at the sky.
'I really can't wait for this injury to go away.'
<Well, that will take some time or do you want me to…>
'To do what?'
<Nevermind, it will do your more harm than good>
After hearing that response from her, he let out a sigh before slowly closing his eyes.
'Of course.'
He still had his eyes closed when he felt someone give him a little tap on the shoulder but he just ignored the person because he thought it was Clark or Mateo but he was wrong.
"Hey, if he doesn't want it just give it to me," Clark suggested.
"Okay," Emma replied.
As soon as he heard that voice, he quickly shot his eyes open to see his wife standing in front of him with a milkshake in her hand, Mateo and Clark were also standing there slowly sipping on the milkshakes in their hands.
"Hey, don't you dare give that to him."
"I wasn't even going to give it to him." She replied with a little chuckle.
"Oh, I see."
They all shared a laugh while enjoying their milkshake until Clark decided to bring up the topic of football.
"Hey, your next match is against Dynamo FC next week, right?" He asked after turning his gaze to Mateo.
"Yeah." The winger responded with a nod.
"That's going to be a pretty tough match without Dave, he also wasn't in the squad when you guys faced them the first time, right?"
"Yeah," Mateo replied.
"Without Dave? Who said I wasn't going to be playing?" Dave questioned with his gaze now fixed on Clark but maybe he shouldn't have asked that question as all three of them had to quickly shoot their gaze at him as soon as he asked that question.
<Now, you've done it>
________ ________
'I know the doctor said I shouldn't play the match and everyone agrees with that but still….'
<You're really something, Dave>
The match against Dynamo FC was just about to kick off and the goalkeeper was on the bench with his arms crossed.
Norman didn't want him anywhere nowhere near the stadium for the training sessions leading to this match but he begged him profusely to let him come train with the rest of the team.
The coach planned to just ignore him at first but then the calls and everything started getting too much as their last training session before the match approached.
This stunt probably wouldn't have worked with another manager but he was quite close with Dave.
He had to agree to let the goalkeeper train with his teammates after all, it's not like he was including him in the squad or letting him start the game but he had no idea of what Dave was planning.
During the training session that day, the goalkeeper kept trying to prove to him that he was fit for the match but the coach wasn't buying it.
In the end, he had to resort to verbally begging him as the training session was nearing its end.
He knew convincing him to start him in the game was going to be tough so he focused on convincing him to put him on the bench at least that way he still had a chance of getting into the game.
Norman had to agree to put him on the bench just to get him to leave him alone but he had no intention of putting him in the game that would be risking his investment for a short-term benefit, but how far was he going to go with that decision?
Dave succeeded in getting himself into the squad for the trip to Dynamo.
Emma wasn't happy with him for insisting to be part of the squad for the match but he assured her that he was going to be okay.
Now he was sitting on the bench with the rest of his teammates on the bench as the match was about to kick off.
Unique FC were in their normal away kit while Dynamo FC were in their home kit which was a black kit with red outlines and two red stripes on the upper part of the shirt but the short was just black with red outlines.
"I have never seen Dave Richards on the bench since his first season with Unique FC, it's a little odd," Jim commented.
"I don't think he's that fit for this match, I think Norman is just keeping him there just in case but I don't know how he'll be
able to do much if he's not that fit." Steve articulated.
"Yeah, my exact thoughts but I guess it's a good choice since they lost their last match against Dynamo FC without Dave."
Cornell was standing over the ball in the kick-off spot waiting for the referee's whistle and it didn't take long before he heard it.
"There's the whistle and we are on the way."
Dynamo FC kept the ball on their own side for a while, but as soon as Frank got his foot on the ball, he sent it flying over to Damian down the right.
Damian quickly got the ball past Roland with an overhead kick, and just before Roland and Adolf who was coming in from the side could stop him, he fired the ball straight toward the goalpost.
"Damian!"
The ball flew straight toward the goalpost from the right and ended up hitting the post before bouncing out for a goal kick.
"Oh, that was so close! Just a minute into the game and they've already gotten that first strike."
"Hmph." Dave reacted with his arms still crossed.
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