Given the choice of a winter spent training in shivery Scotland or the rather more benign climate of Madrid, Rachel Tytler was out of there before you could say patatas bravas.

The Glaswegian judoka was given the opportunity to move out to Spain at the end of last year and understandably jumped at the chance to train, compete and then recover from a knee injury in a new environment and more pleasant weather conditions.

The Stirling University graduate is still adjusting to the cultural and language changes but inside the dojo the universal laws of judo still apply, bringing some familiarity to an otherwise unaccustomed lifestyle.

“One of my friends, Malin Wilson, changed nationality last year to become a Spanish citizen after living out here for five or six years,” she explained.

“She had said for me to come over to do some training every now and then. Then I got asked to compete in a league with the local team so I just got familiar with the club through doing that.

“Then they said there were a couple of flats for the athletes if needed so you could come over and train for a week and do this and do that. So I was thinking, ‘this is getting more and more appealing!’. So I bit the bullet and applied for a visa. Everything just kind of aligned which was nice.

“I've got a visa for a year so I'll be out here until the end of October. There are a few more bodies for training with as it's a wee bit more limited for people of my size and age in Scotland. I decided that I needed a change, so why not?

“It's lovely being here and enjoying the culture and having to learn the language and all of that. But it's also familiar because I go to the gym in the morning and go to judo at night, so even though it is flipped on its head and it’s a completely different space and place, there are a lot of familiarities as well.

“The way they train is a wee bit different but it's the same anywhere you go, even at clubs in Scotland or other countries. It’s all the same stuff but it's just the coach's preference for how they do certain things.”

Tytler hopes to complete her rehabilitation from an MCL (medial collateral ligament) injury soon with a view to returning to competition in the next month or so.

The 27-year-old will then step up her work upon her return to Scotland in the autumn ahead of the qualifying process for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

“I would like to be fully functioning and competing again later this month but that's probably optimistic, so I’m looking at April or May, right into the start of judo qualification. Hopefully by then I'll just be able to hit the ground running.”

She has been kept busy in the meantime, both with coaching and personal training – mostly on video calls while she’s out of the country – and indulging her artistic side with painting and other similar projects.

“I've been doing some coaching for the club back home just where I can and personal training. I would love to be in person more but with my knee and being over in Spain at the moment, it's having to go more online.

“With my art, I commission work and make special cards for family events and friends and things. That's a nice calming environment when I'm doing it. It's just super relaxing. It's a change of head space, which I quite often don't give myself time for. So, it's a good thing to do.”

A bronze medal winner at Birmingham in 2022, the chance to compete in another home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year serves as a major target as Tytler plots her comeback.

"I think it'll be fantastic and I really am looking forward to it. Thinking back to 2014, I was too young to volunteer or compete so I went along and watched and just enjoyed the buzz in the venue and around the town.

“Everything about Glasgow 2014 was good in my perspective, so I think we can't go wrong with doing it again. Winning a medal in Birmingham was the highlight of my career for me, definitely. It was an experience that I've never had before, and being able to have family and friends there, which I've never had either, was just absolutely phenomenal.

“And just coming off the mat after my bronze fight, I don't know, I looked to the crowd and randomly every time I looked up my eyes fell on family and friends. It was like one of those crazy things that just happened in the moment but it was perfect.”