These three days, Zhou Yi underwent low-intensity training while enjoying the personal physical therapy and massage from his exclusive physical therapist, Cortana. In a relatively private space, he reclined on the therapy bed, being served by the beauty, and chatted with Cortana.

He was having a pretty good time.

But the good days ended quickly.

In the seventh round of the league, Borussia Dortmund challenged Hanover away. Zhou Yi wasn't even on the roster for this match.

While his teammates set off to challenge their opponents away, Zhou Yi also boarded a plane and flew back to China in advance to prepare for the top ten match against Australia.

Because he was injured in the match against Manchester City, he didn't need to participate in the match against Hannover 96, so naturally, there was no need to stay in Germany.

Before leaving, Zhou Yi asked Cortana if there would be any problems with his ankle.

"...If the other party isn't deliberately trying to chop your ankle off, there won't be any problems in a normal game." Cortana gave him an answer that he didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried about.

Seeing Zhou Yi's expression, Cortana laughed: "Silly, if the other party is deliberately trying to chop your foot, it will break even if your ankle is healthy."

Zhou Yi breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that his ankle had recovered to the point where he could play.

So at the Capital International Airport, when he appeared in front of reporters, facing the Chinese reporters who were worried about his injury, he smiled easily and said, "I think my physical condition is very good, there are no problems at all."

This answer made the Chinese reporters and fans breathe a sigh of relief—Zhou Yi must not be injured.

In the match against Manchester City, seeing Zhou Yi hobbling off the field, many people were scolding Manchester City and worrying about Zhou Yi.

Later, when they saw Zhou Yi stride towards coach Klopp, they thought Zhou Yi was pretending to be injured to deliberately delay the time. But when the camera turned, Zhou Yi's ankle was actually wrapped in an ice pack!

That meant he was really injured...

At the time, no one knew how long Zhou Yi would be injured for, and all the Chinese fans felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, feeling that things were not good.

Because the next opponent China would face in the top ten was Australia.

This was not a team that could be won easily.

If the opponent was Oman, it would have been fine. They could have just not called up Zhou Yi, let him rest and recover in Europe, and watched the other national team players take down the weakest team in the group at home.

But Australia was not that level of opponent.

Don't look at the fact that three rounds of group matches have passed, and the Chinese team has two wins and one draw, with seven points, only behind Japan, who has played one more game, ranking second.

But the situation is not as optimistic as everyone thinks.

As of now, four rounds of matches have been played in Group B of the top ten. Because there are five teams, there will definitely be a team that has played one less match.

Japan ranks first with two wins, two draws and eight points. China ranks second with two wins, one draw and seven points. Qatar ranks third with one win and two losses and three points. Australia ranks fourth with two draws and one loss and two points. Oman ranks fifth with one draw and two losses and one point.

It seems that the Chinese team is leading Qatar, who is third, by four points, and is only one point behind Japan, who is in first place, so the situation is very good. But in reality, Qatar has played the same number of matches as them, which is three, so the four-point gap is not as big as people think.

Australia's performance has indeed been somewhat unexpected. They haven't won any of their three top ten matches, especially the draw against Oman at home was a real upset, and being defeated by Qatar at home also disrupted their plans.

But Australia's current abnormal performance doesn't mean that they will continue to be so bad in the future. On the contrary, due to the lack of initial points in the top ten, they will work even harder to grab points later. For the sake of victory, their aggression will be stronger, and they will be more persistent in winning the match, so the match with them will be more difficult.

The Chinese team just ran into the muzzle of the gun.

Although Australia is playing away in this match, they will definitely not give up. Without Zhou Yi, it would be difficult for China to take down Australia even at home.

Although it is a home game, with China's position in the AFC, it is really unrealistic to expect any "home advantage".

With Zhou Yi, although it doesn't necessarily mean that they can definitely take down their opponents at home, at least it gives many Chinese fans the confidence to expect victory.

※※※

After arriving in Beijing, Zhou Yi did not choose to stay in Beijing, but rested at the airport and then transferred directly to Xi'an, which is the location of the Chinese team's second home game in the top ten.

There he will join the national team that started training as early as the beginning of October, and start preparing for the top ten match on October 16.

After arriving in Xi'an and joining the national team, the first thing Zhou Yi did was to undergo an examination by the entire team doctor group to see how his injury had recovered.

In the end, the team doctor concluded that he could train with the team.

This meant that he was physically fit to play in the match.

Cortana hadn't lied to him.

Hearing this result, Zhou Yi was very happy, and Gao Hongbo was also very happy.

In such a crucial match, Zhou Yi must not be absent.

After Zhou Yi arrived in Xi'an, the European leagues were also in full swing.

Borussia Dortmund not only lacked Zhou Yi, but also made rotations, so this Dortmund team that went out to play away was not the strongest lineup, and the match against Manchester City had consumed too much energy and physical strength.

In the end, Borussia Dortmund was held to a 1:1 draw by Hannover 96 after taking the lead away.

After seven rounds of matches, they had four wins, two draws and one loss, with fourteen points, ranking third.

The other team with fourteen points was Schalke 04. In this round of the league, they defeated Wolfsburg 3:0 at home. They had the same points as Borussia Dortmund, and the number of goals scored was the same as Borussia Dortmund, both seventeen. But because they lost on goal difference, they ranked below Borussia Dortmund.

Yang Muge played the entire match in this match and performed well, making great contributions to Schalke 04's three points. In fact, Schalke 04's ability to rank fourth so far this season is also inseparable from Yang Muge's performance. After training last season, Yang Muge's role in Schalke 04 has become increasingly important in the new season. He is an iron gate in Schalke 04's midfield. His performance has not only been highly praised by team coach Stevens, but also recognized by Schalke 04 fans and the media. He is no longer an "invisible man" in Schalke now. When he walks on the street, he may be recognized by enthusiastic Schalke 04 fans at any time. After his outstanding performance, there will also be voices praising him in the media. They say that after Dortmund had Zhou Yi, Schalke 04 also has a Chinese player who can make them cheer and be proud.

Yang Muge's humble and low-key personality is also very popular. He always silently does what he should do. He never has any messy things outside the stadium. Inside the team's locker room, he can also get along well with everyone. There are no conflicts of interest, and he will not be annoying because of his personality. His low profile has not become an obstacle for him to integrate into this team. After all, he came up from Schalke 04's youth training camp. He is not an outsider that everyone is unfamiliar with, but a person with qualifications in the club. He already has a good relationship with many players in the team, so integrating into the team is not difficult for him. At the same time, his indifferent personality can avoid him from getting into some conflicts, so naturally he is popular.

Guo Nu played well in Cesena. In this round of the league, Cesena played against Varese at home.

In the end, they defeated their opponents 2:0 at home. Guo Nu performed very well in the match and was a key figure in the team's not conceding a goal.

He used his perverted physical fitness to make up for his lack of height. His sudden flanking steals made Varese's forwards suffer unspeakably.

Guo Nu was also selected for the Chinese team's roster for the match against Australia. After the match against Varese, he rushed back to China overnight.

At the same time, in the seventh round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid defeated Malaga 2:1. Sun Pan started the match. He had already recovered from his injury and returned to the team in the fifth round of the league two rounds ago. He started for Atletico Madrid and helped the team defeat Valladolid 2:1 at home. His condition was good.

His return from injury is good news for both Atletico Madrid and the Chinese team. The Chinese team has actually been waiting for a stable world-class goalkeeper. Sun Pan is the most likely Chinese goalkeeper to become world-class. His return will definitely strengthen the Chinese team's defensive stability and add a very important weight to the Chinese team's victory over Australia at home.

After all, everyone still remembers his performance at the Olympic Games. Three people were considered the most important contributors to the Olympic team's final victory. One was Zhou Yi, one was Sun Pan, and the other was He Ying. The three of them formed the central axis of the Chinese Olympic team. Zhou Yi was in the middle to dispatch, command and organize, He Ying charged forward and scored goals, and Sun Pan was in the back to guard the gate and prevent anyone from entering, acting as the last line of defense for the Chinese Olympic team.

So although the other Olympic team players performed very well, the most prominent and eye-catching were these three people.

Now Sun Pan will usher in his first national team match in his career, and everyone has high hopes for his performance, hoping that he can solve the problem closest to the goal on the Chinese team's defense line.

Speaking of the three heroes of the Olympic team, Zhou Yi and Sun Pan continued their good form in the Olympic Games, but He Ying was far behind. His good form in the Olympic Games was not continued at all because he couldn't play in the club.

In the last match, the Chinese team played hard to separate from Japan away. In the end, they only managed to draw with their opponents with Zhou Yi's goal. He Ying performed poorly and wasted opportunities repeatedly. He was considered an important reason why the Chinese team failed to win away.

After that match, He Ying was also criticized. However, he himself did not respond to any of these criticisms.

After returning to Barcelona, he was selected for Barcelona's roster once, which made the domestic media and fans excited for a while, expecting him to make his debut for Barcelona.

As a result, by the end of the match, he had not played at all, and had been sitting on the bench for ninety minutes.

Now it's not a question of whether He Ying can seize the opportunity when it appears, but there is no opportunity for him to seize at all...

However, although He Ying can't play in Barcelona, he was still selected for this national team roster.

Like Zhou Yi, because he didn't need to participate in the seventh round of La Liga, he came to Xi'an early to train and prepare for the match. Gao Hongbo hoped to use the national team's training and internal matches to help He Ying regain some form as much as possible.

The seventh round of Barcelona's league was a heavyweight match that attracted worldwide attention—the Spanish national derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, the battle of the century!

But this has nothing to do with He Ying, He Ying was not on the roster at all. In order to prepare for the national team's match, he applied to the club to return to China early, and his request was approved by the club.

He even came back earlier than Zhou Yi, because he didn't need to stay at the club to recover from his injury.

So when Zhou Yi arrived in Xi'an, he saw He Ying.