Owono yet to decide on football return after Jesus de Miguel's fatal collision

FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono has not yet decided whether he will return to football following the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel, who died in hospital on 4 November — the day after a collision between the two players during a Spanish league match.

Andorra coach Carles Manso addressed the situation at a press conference on Thursday, saying the club would give Owono the space to make whatever decision he felt ready to make. “What we have to do is support him in every way and be close to him,” Manso said. “We will give him space so that he feels completely free to make any decision, whether he wants to return, when, or if he does not want to return.”

Manso described the aftermath of the tragedy as a “very complicated situation to manage” and said Owono was spending time with family, friends and his partner. “When he feels it is appropriate and when he feels genuinely ready to take a decision like that, he will do so,” the coach added.

Owono, who has earned 47 caps for Equatorial Guinea, was not included in his country’s squad for their doubleheader with Zimbabwe during the current international break. He released a statement through Andorra last week in which he described the period as “the most difficult days of my life.”

Andorra travel to Almeria on Saturday for their first fixture since De Miguel’s death.

Over the weekend, Tenerife players and thousands of supporters gathered at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez to pay tribute to the forward. A large banner bearing De Miguel’s black-and-white photograph and the words “Forever Demi” — a reference to his nickname — hung behind a stage set up on the pitch. After a video showing footage of his Tenerife debut, fans chanted: “De Miguel, we love you.”

Players sat alongside representatives from every club in Spain’s top two divisions, including Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno, as tears fell in the stands.

“To speak of you in the past tense is tremendously unfair,” Tenerife captain Enric Gallego said, pausing repeatedly during his speech. “It’s still hard to believe that this has happened to us, Demi; you’ll always be one of us. We’re still struggling to come to terms with the fact that you won’t be with us again.”