Goncalo Franco: Swansea City’s impressive midfielder relishes Cardiff City derby

Franco grins as he tells the story, the smile having returned after the tears shed during Swansea’s festive victory over Luton Town.

Having scored for the second time in as many matches, Franco was left in a heap after Mark McGuinness’ arm connected with his face.

He briefly attempted to play on, then sobbed as he was helped from the field.

“I had a fracture in one part of my jaw, I had three teeth which I could feel had moved up,” the 24-year-old explains.

“I tried to play on but I could not – I was dizzy and there was pain. But now I am good.”

And the tears?

“Because I want to play,” Franco adds. “I want to play every game, but I can’t because the pain was too much.”

The damage done meant Franco was unable to eat solid food for 10 days.

“Only soup and scrambled egg and protein shakes,” he says.

“Then I bought in the supermarket some baby’s cereal – Cerelac. We have that in Portugal. When I was a baby I ate that. Very good.”

Surprisingly, Franco missed only one game as a result of the facial injuries, returning to action in Swansea’s draw with West Brom just six days after Luton.

He has played in 23 of Swansea’s 29 matches so far this season, having been rested occasionally by Luke Williams.

If Franco had his way, he would never be left out.

“At the beginning of the season I spoke with Ryan [Harley], the assistant coach, and I said I came here because I want to play every minute in every game,” he says.

“He said maybe it’s because we have a lot of games and you need to rest sometimes. But he said ‘OK, I like this mentality’.”