Mikel Merino recounts Dortmund bus escape and World Cup recovery

Mikel Merino has described how a change of seat may have saved his life during the 2017 attack on Borussia Dortmund's team bus, in a newly published personal account. The Arsenal and Spain midfielder also explained how memories of that escape helped shape his response to the foot injury that threatened his participation in this year's World Cup.

Watch the highlights:

Writing in The Players' Tribune, Merino said he moved towards the front of the coach because his legs felt tight and the seats there reclined. He later learned that a large piece of shrapnel had become lodged in the headrest of his usual seat, which was empty when the explosions struck. He presented the switch as something that may have saved him, rather than a certainty.

BBC Sport reported that three bombs exploded as Dortmund's coach travelled to a Champions League match against Monaco. Merino, then 20, recalled smoke, screams and blood inside the bus. He subsequently went to hospital to wait for team-mate Marc Bartra, who required an operation on his wrist. The fixture was postponed until the next day, a decision criticised by Dortmund's then-manager Thomas Tuchel.

The account also covers Merino's recovery from a stress fracture in his right foot in February. According to BBC Sport's reporting of his recollections, he was initially told to expect six months out, with the World Cup only four months away. Having played in qualifying but missed Spain's final squad in 2022, he faced the prospect of another tournament absence before returning to help Spain win the trophy.

Merino said Arsenal's initial plan was for him to return in the Champions League final, but he pushed to play earlier against Crystal Palace. He wanted Spain coach Luis de la Fuente to see that he was ready before the national squad announcement. After discussions with Mikel Arteta and the medical staff, he was allowed half an hour in that league match.

He watched the squad announcement on Spanish television the following day and celebrated his inclusion with his wife, Lola, and their son, Marco. In his account, Merino credited his family's support throughout the injury lay-off and the recovery that took him back into international football.