After holding back for two weeks, Gu Ran's competitive state did decline a bit, but after this warm-up, he has mostly recovered it.

As long as they practice with the team a few more times and play some games, all the lost form will be restored, and they can even break through to a new level! When the warm-up was coming to an end, most of the Southampton players entered the training ground with sleepy eyes.

"Oh my god... who is that?"

"Is it Gu Ran? Am I dreaming?"

"Oh yeah! Gu Ran is back!"

"Wait! Isn't Gu Ran's ankle broken?"

"Looking at his warm-up run, he seems to be running faster than before!"

"This, this is simply a miracle! How did he do it?"

The Southampton players ran up excitedly and surrounded Gu Ran, asking him about his well-being.

Gu Ran also happily greeted his teammates.

Lambert asked with concern: "Gu, how is your ankle now? The last time Lallana came back from visiting you, he told us that your entire left leg was in plaster! How come you're back in just two weeks?"

Schneiderlin also said anxiously: "Gu, we all know that you want to play football, but you can't force yourself to be injured!"

Lallana was even more anxious, "Yes, Gu, you should go back to the hospital and recuperate! You can't sneak out and ruin your future!"

Chamberlain also shouted, "Yes! Gu! Go back to the hospital! Otherwise... I will call and report you now!"

Shit... is it okay to report me? Gu Ran smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern. Actually, my injury is not serious. The medical skills of the team doctor Mai Fu are amazing. Coupled with the top treatment of the University Hospital of Southampton, my ankle is basically fine. My return this time is also agreed by the club."

You can't say that I'm gifted, the swelling went down the next day, and I was fine in three days, and I'm only returning now just to help the club throw a smokescreen, right?

When everyone heard that the club agreed, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Luke Shaw said with envy: "I also want Mave to be my exclusive team doctor!"

Captain Davis frowned and said, "Gu, even if the club agrees to your return, you have to be careful. Your future is your own, and you have to be responsible for yourself. If you are not responsible for yourself, then we will be responsible for you."

"Yes, yes, yes! The captain is right!"

"Gu, we are responsible for you!"

"Come on, let's carry Gu down to rest!"

Oh shit!

Gu Ran shouted in his heart: Don't do this! I don't want you to be responsible for me!

I am the returning king, I am the returning king!

——Without waiting for Gu Ran to struggle or resist, more than a dozen teammates held Gu Ran down and carried him out of the field without any explanation.

This scene was actually somewhat cheerful.

As soon as he was carried to the sidelines, Gu Ran saw Harding walking into the training ground with a sullen face.

The atmosphere that was just cheerful suddenly dropped to freezing point!

Everyone fell silent.

——Everyone knows that with Gu Ran’s temper, he will never let Haldin go.

Gu Ran's eyes instantly became murderous, and Haldin was frightened by Gu Ran's sudden return and subconsciously wanted to dodge.

Haldin thought that although his underhanded trick against Gu Ran did not succeed, since Gu Ran "broke his leg" on the court, he could be considered a winner.

But he never expected that Gu Ran would return so soon!

Seeing that Haldin wanted to run away out of guilt, how could Gu Ran give him a chance?

Gu Ran said coldly: "Hardin! You idiot, do you think I'll run away after seeing your grandfather?"

Nothing else, just scolding him in the face! Haldin had already turned around, but when he heard Gu Ran's scolding, he clenched his fists and turned around, his face full of undisguised resentment.

"Hmph! Gu Ran!"

"Don't think I'll be afraid of you just because you have the club's support!"

"That's right, I did trick you. I just don't like you, a yellow-skinned rotten grass!"

"Why are you so arrogant now? Your leg is broken, and your career is over! As for me, even if I am punished by the club and cannot play, I can still get the club's salary for free! When my contract expires in two years, I can transfer to another club freely and continue playing football!"

"If the club is smart, they will know how important I am as a left-back! Then, they will lift my suspension and beg me to play!"

"And you, a piece of trash, will be abandoned by the club!"

"I'm too lazy to laugh at you now, so what qualifications do you have to be arrogant to me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Gu Ran could even speak, the other teammates were filled with righteous indignation and surrounded Haldin.

Especially Haldin's former subordinates, who were the most active! "Hardin! You crazy snake! We were blind to call you the boss!"

"Hardin, you actually used despicable and shameless means to harm your teammates. You are trash!"

"Hardin, if you dare to curse Gu Ran again, we will tear your stinky mouth to pieces!"

"Hardin, you're really asking for a beating!"

Harding didn't care at all. Instead, he looked like he had given up and asked, "What can you do to me?" "I just cursed, so what? I've been banned by the club anyway. I'm just playing badly and living a lazy life! I'm the sinister villain you call me, what can you do to me? The club still has to pay me! Dare you touch me? The club doesn't allow fighting. If you dare to do that, you'll be banned like me!"

The teammates were all furious, but no one dared to take action.

It's really not worth it to sacrifice your career prospects for a bad person!

Lallana lowered his voice and said to Gu Ran: "Gu, don't bother with this mad dog. Take a step back and the world will be broader..."

Gu Ran almost laughed out loud: Take a step back? Did I come back to life to take a step back? Harding, you idiot, do you really think my ankle is broken? Are you still dreaming that the club will ask you to play? Should I do it to you all at once? Or should I torture you slowly? - Gu Ran's eyes became more and more sharp.

Seeing that no one dared to make a move, Haldin became even more arrogant and took a step forward. "Come on, hit me! Hit me! Hit me!"

Gu Ran raised his eyebrows, and sprinted forward like lightning. With the help of the inertia of the violent sprint, he raised his left foot and kicked hard on Haldin's arrogant long face with a whip kick!

Bang! Half of Harding's face was instantly deformed, and the whole person was kicked up in the air. He fell on the grass with blood all over his face, and both of his back teeth were broken!

This sudden and domineering kick stunned all the players on the scene! No one expected that Gu Ran would actually dare to hit him!

Moreover, he used his “disabled” left foot!

Gu Ran...was he really injured? In the shocked eyes of everyone, Gu Ran shrugged innocently, "Everyone heard it, it was Haldin who asked me to beat him."

Luke Xiao was the first to react. "Yes! It was Haldin who begged Gu Ran to beat him! This is the first time I've heard such an excessive request."

"Yes, yes! Haldin asked for it!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Gu Ran!"

"Gu Ran injured his ankle, but he was still eager to help Haldin!"

Other players also expressed their support.

Haldin was shocked, frightened, angry, annoyed, hurt, and terrified! What shocked him most was that Gu Ran actually used his left foot!

This means that Gu Ran's injury has fully recovered! And his beautiful dream was completely shattered by Gu Ran's kick!

Haldin struggled for a long time but couldn't stand up. He could only lie on the ground with blood foaming at his mouth and muttering to himself, "How is this possible? How is this possible..."

Gu Ran put his hands in his pockets and sneered, "Hardin, I only used 50% of my strength this time. After all... we have to take it slow."

Harding shuddered involuntarily! What does a steady stream of water mean? Do I have to be beaten every day? Harding took a deep breath and shouted fiercely: "Good! Very good! Gu Ran, you are really brave! I didn't expect you to recover so quickly! But so what? You hit me today, and you violated Coach Adkins' rule that fighting within the team is not allowed! You will still die! Today, we will die together! Haha..."

He just laughed once, and then Haldin covered his bleeding mouth and screamed in pain.

At this time, head coach Adkins and assistant coach Andy also came to the training ground.

The players quickly surrounded Haldin to prevent Coach Adkins from finding out what was happening here.

After all, the punishment for fighting within a professional team is quite severe, and no one wants Gu Ran to be punished.

"Why are you all gathered here so early in the morning if you're not training?"

Coach Adkins frowned and pushed through the crowd, immediately seeing Gu Ran with his hands in his pockets.

Coach Adkins' eyes lit up, "...back?"

Gu Ran smiled at Coach Adkins, "Coach, I'm back."

Coach Adkins nodded calmly, "Okay, it's good to be back!"

"Coach! Coach!" Haldin seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw, lying on the ground and shouting heartbreakingly: "Coach, Gu Ran beat me! He knocked out all my teeth! You have to seek justice! According to the club's rules! You must severely punish Gu Ran!"

Coach Adkins glanced at Haldin lying on the ground, and the disgust on his face could no longer be concealed.

Coach Adkins then asked the players around him, "What's going on?"

Although the question was harsh, everyone noticed that Coach Adkins did not question Gu Ran.

The meaning is actually very obvious.

Captain Davis immediately stood up and said, "Coach! This is what happened... I didn't see anything."

——As expected, he is worthy of being the veteran captain.

Vice Captain Walton also stood up and said, "Coach, I don't know what happened. Anyway...when I came over, I saw Harding beating Gu Ran."

Haldin was almost mad with rage, "I hit Gu Ran? I, I was lying on the ground with blood all over my mouth, how could I hit Gu Ran?!"

Tafazoli, a former close friend of Haldin, stepped forward to testify: "I saw Haldin hit Gu Ran's injured foot with his face!"

"What?" Assistant coach Andy said angrily, "Harding, you are really going too far!"

Haldin was so angry that he was shaking all over. "You, you... Well, your whole team is helping Gu Ran! Gu Ran, you are so cruel! Just wait! I will expose this to the media! I will make sure you all pay the price! I will let everyone know what a dirty, chaotic and shameless club Southampton is!"

Coach Adkins' brows gradually furrowed.

As an experienced head coach, how could he not see what was happening here?

Coach Adkins said coldly: "No matter who hits who, it's considered a fight! I want to emphasize the team's discipline again! No matter what the reason is, no matter if you are the captain or the rising star, no matter if you are fighting a sinister villain or a street rat, fighting is fighting! If you dare to fight, you must accept the punishment!"

When Harding heard this, he became arrogant again, "Hahaha! Gu, you can't escape this time! Do you think you can do whatever you want in Southampton? Just wait to be suspended!"

Coach Adkins said sternly: "Harding, you are fined 1,200 pounds. 1,000 pounds is a punishment for your fighting within the team, and 200 pounds is for your grass cleaning fee."

Haldin was simply dumbfounded.

This punishment is really too severe!

His weekly salary is only £1,600!

If we keep going at this pace... not only will we not be able to get Southampton for free, but we will have to pay a huge amount! We got a week's salary for free, but we will have to pay two months' salary! And we will be beaten! Harding hurriedly and anxiously complained: "Coach! I didn't fight! I really didn't fight! I was beaten!"

Coach Adkins said coldly, "Who can testify for you? If anyone stands up to speak for you today, I won't fine you."

Haldin looked at his teammates almost pleadingly.

How could the teammates speak up for a scumbag who was stabbing his teammates in the back? Everyone looked at Haldin with contempt.

Especially his former brothers, they all wanted to tear Harding apart to show that they were irreconcilable with evil! Coach Adkins also did not forget to add insult to injury and taunted, "Harding, you are already stinking."

The corners of Haldin's mouth twitched slightly, and his whole body went limp.

Coach Adkins turned back to Gu Ran and said, "Gu...is your left foot okay?"

Gu Ran moved his ankle and said with regret, "It's OK, but I can't move it much."

If Haldin could stand up a little longer, wouldn't he be able to kick him a few more times? Oh, I should have used only 30% of my strength.

I’m afraid even 30% of the strength won’t be enough. It’s a paper tiger that will break if touched.

Seeing that Gu Ran was fine, Coach Adkins nodded in relief and said softly, "Gu, you did hit someone after all, so according to the rules, you must accept the team's punishment. However, considering that this is your first offense and you have a legitimate reason, I will fine you 200 pounds this time. But if you hit someone again next time, you will be fined 1,000 pounds."

Coach Adkins even informed Gu Ran in advance of the next punishment for hitting someone, which was very thoughtful.

Haldin couldn't hold it anymore!

He was beaten, lost his teeth, and was fined 1,200 pounds, but Gu Ran was only fined 200 pounds? ! Is there still justice? Is there still law? Haldin said angrily: "Coach! I protest! I was the one who was beaten! Why fine me 1,200 and Gu Ran 200? This is unfair! It's unfair! I demand that Gu Ran be fined 1,200 as well!"

Gu Ran smiled and said, "Coach, I hit someone, I accept the punishment willingly. I also think that 200 yuan is too little, so why not just fine me 1,200 yuan!"

Coach Adkins said admiringly: "Gu, you are very conscious, but rules are rules. How can I fine you an extra 1,000 pounds?"

Chamberlain, the smart one, immediately stepped forward and said, "Isn't this easy? Gu, you fight again and we'll be even!"

Haldin: Eh??? Gu Ran was waiting for this sentence!

Without waiting for Haldin to react, Gu Ran slapped Haldin on the left cheek with his backhand!

Both sides of Haldin's face were swollen evenly! Haldin lay on the ground, covering his face and burst into tears!

At this moment, he felt like he was being bullied by a bully! Coach Adkins looked down at Harding coldly, "Well, both are fined 1,200. Is this fair now?"

Haldin didn't dare to say another word! If he continued to say something, Gu Ran would be happy to give him a beating!

Seeing that Harding had lost his temper, his teammates all cheered and celebrated with various high-fives!

Gu Ran was also smiling from ear to ear, feeling so happy! That's right! Just do whatever you want!

This is no longer about justice or injustice, it's all about strength!

As long as you have the strength, justice will never be late! Revenge will be made immediately!

Seeing that it was almost done, Coach Adkins pressed his palms and said, "Alright, let's warm up and practice. We have a city derby tomorrow! Gu, you have to go to the physical examination center for a checkup first. After you pass the checkup, come to the training ground to find me - and, welcome back."

"Thank you, Coach."

Coach Adkins and Coach Andy turned and left.

Gu Ran turned around and said to Rick beside him: "Rick, get me a monthly fine package."

"Okay! Gu!" Rick was beaming with joy and looked even happier than Gu Ran.

With a new contract signing fee of 100,000 pounds and a fine of 1,000 pounds a day, Gu Ran can beat Harding until the next transfer window opens! It feels so damn good to have money and be able to spend it without any scruples!

Gu Ran glanced at Haldin, whose face was twitching on the ground, and said with a smile: "Hardin, we will see you tomorrow."

Harding's whole body was shaking! He had to take the worst beatings every day and pay 1,200 pounds a day... How could he live like this? He had wanted to stay at Southampton for two years and leave after getting enough salary, but now it seems that he will be beaten by Gu Ran in less than a month! Harding got up tremblingly amid the laughter of the crowd, "I want to, I want to see the sports director, I want to take the initiative to transfer, I am even willing to pay the club's termination fee... I want to leave this hell of Southampton! Woo woo woo woo..."

Gu Ran ignored the wailing Haldin and went directly to the physical examination center.

Half an hour later, Gu Ran completed the examination at the physical examination center - all the values ​​were completely normal, and he could return to the team for training and participate in the competition.

Rick happily submitted the physical examination report to the coaching staff.

Gu Ran officially returns to team training!

As for Harding, the injured Harding wanted to take a leave to go home and recuperate, but the doctors at the physical examination center refused to examine Harding's injury, and the club did not approve Harding's request for leave.

That’s right, we’re targeting Haldin openly!

Haldin also realized his situation and could only run to beg sports director Mark Walker and request a transfer.

Harding is even willing to pay part of the transfer fee himself and leave Southampton.

But Mark Walker remained unmoved.

Southampton Football Club is quite short of money, but it does not lack the money from Harding.

If Harding uses underhanded tactics to deal with Southampton's rising star, then Southampton will retaliate against Harding with open tactics.

Moreover, the British football circle is so small that even if Southampton is willing to give Harding a chance to transfer, other clubs would not dare to take a player who does tricks behind his teammates.

Haldin was completely dumbfounded.

There is only one way left for him... retirement.

At the moment when Haldin used a dirty trick on Gu Ran, he never expected that the consequences would be so serious.

In order to avoid coming to the club every day to lose money and get beaten, Harding finally had no choice but to retire in tears.

As a player who is only 26 years old, Harding definitely suffered a great loss by retiring at the golden age of his career.

However, given Haldin's character, he will make a comeback within half a season. Of course, he can only appear in English League Two or English League Three teams at most.

This time, Harding was just shooting himself in the foot.

During the lunch break, Mark Walker informed Gu Ran that Harding would retire directly.

Gu Ran felt a little regretful.

I wanted to torture Haldin for a few more days, but I didn't expect Haldin to be so cowardly.

Forget it, there is no point in getting entangled with such a cowardly player. I should just focus on playing football.

The matter of Haldin came to an end here.

The atmosphere in the Southampton locker room also reached a new level of harmony, and everything was back on track.

During the afternoon training, Gu Ran picked up 10 training bubbles and automatically exchanged them for a talent point.

Gu Ran still chose to make up for his shortcomings and added this talent point to the "stop the ball" attribute, which immediately increased from 67 points to 68 points.

After the afternoon training, Coach Adkins took the initiative to talk to Gu Ran.

"Hey, Gu. How's training been since you got back?"

Gu Ran said contentedly: "Coach, I feel good."

Coach Adkins nodded in satisfaction. "Very good... However, I'm afraid I can't let you start tomorrow's game. I know the true extent of your injury, but the club's top management asked that you not be allowed to play easily before the summer transfer window is nearly over."

Gu Ran smiled and said, "Coach, I understand."

Coach Adkins was silent for a moment and then said, "I still hope you can be ready to come on as a substitute. Although the opponent in the city derby is relatively weak, we at Southampton really can't afford to lose this game."

After two consecutive wins, Southampton suffered two consecutive defeats! The confidence for the new season that was hard-earned was almost exhausted.

If we can't even beat Northampton in tomorrow's game, we'll be in trouble.

Coach Adkins doesn't want to be asked to resign by fans before he can display his full strength.

Moreover, through the last two games, Coach Adkins has clearly realized the indispensability of Gu Ran in his tactical system.

Gu Ran nodded firmly, "Coach Adkins, I'm always ready."

"Very good, you don't need to practice extra today. Go back and rest early. Just drive directly to St. Mary's Stadium for training before 9 am tomorrow morning."

"Yes! Coach!"

After Coach Adkins left, Gu Ran packed up and prepared to leave.

At this time, personal affairs assistant Rick came up with a schedule.

"Gu, this is the schedule for the first month of the new season. Please take a look at it."

"good!"

Gu Ran took the first schedule of his professional career with great anticipation and took a look at it, then he took a deep breath.

The entire month of August is packed with matches! The first match: Saturday, August 7 at 3pm, the opening match of the first round of the English League One, Southampton away challenge Plymouth.

The second game: Tuesday, August 10th at 7:45 pm, League Cup first round, Southampton away challenge arch-rivals Portsmouth.

The third game: At 3 pm on Saturday, August 14, in the second round of the English League One, Southampton will face Notts County at home.

The fourth game: At 3 pm on Saturday, August 21, in the third round of the English League One, Southampton will challenge Peterborough United away.

Game 5: Tuesday, August 24, 7:45 pm, League Cup second round (if qualified in the first round), Southampton plays at home, the opponent team is to be determined.

Game 6: Saturday, August 28 at 3 pm, in the fourth round of the English League One, Southampton will face Rochdale at home.

Game 7: Tuesday, August 31, 7:45 p.m., Pioneer Cup Southern Division first round knockout match, Southampton away challenge, opponent is yet to be determined, pending the draw.

And on August 2nd, there is another friendly match with Arsenal.

This means that there will be a total of 8 games in the first month of the new season! The intensity of this game... is too exciting! This is the real professional intensity! There are four League One games every month, and there are also cup knockout games - the first few rounds of the cup knockout games are teams of similar level. If you can advance to the fourth round, you will face teams from the Championship and the Premier League.

Therefore, for English League One teams, they will generally give up the cup games after three rounds. Even in the early stages, they will only send substitute players to practice.

What the English League One teams really care about is the "League Championship", which is the Pioneer Cup.

The participating teams of this competition are basically the teams from League One and League Two. The "League Championship" is also the highest honor that the teams from League One and League Two must compete for. It is extremely valuable in the lower leagues! Of course, Premier League and Championship clubs can also participate in the Pioneer Cup, but high-level clubs can only send U18 youth teams to participate.

The significance of the Pioneer Cup is equivalent to a low-end version of the FA Cup.

Of course, Southampton also has to play in the FA Cup knockout stage, but there are no FA Cup matches scheduled in the first month.

Including the friendly match with Arsenal, there are 8 games in August. Just thinking about it makes me feel refreshed!

…

(End of this chapter)