GOALAfter enduring a severe motocross-like injury six years ago, the skillful and adaptable center-back is nearing a transfer to the Emirates Stadium.
Riccardo Calafiori was 16 years of age, he'd only just signed his first professional contract with Roma and yet he was being told that his career might already be over. In the 82nd minute of a UEFA Youth League game against Viktoria Plzen, he'd been left with a right knee swollen so badly that it was three times the size of his left after being on the receiving end of a shocking, studs-up tackle from Vaclav Svoboda.
Some of the specialists that assessed the damage done couldn't believe what they'd seen: all of the ligaments had been ruptured, along with his meniscus and articular capsule. "Something like this usually only happens in motocross – not in football," a medic told the Corriere dello Sport. "It's an injury that happens only once every 10 years."
Reflecting on it now, Calafiori acknowledges that he was perhaps fortunate that it occurred during his youth, as he didn’t fully comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Nevertheless, his defiant response to such a significant setback remains extraordinary.
"The time has come to truly bring out everything that I have inside," he wrote on Instagram just the day after his entire world had been turned upside down. "This time, no decisive match, no final to win… There is the most important battle of my life ahead of me, and I certainly cannot back down. The time has come to put aside the boy, the, at times, little boy that I have been until now, and become a MAN.
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I will be sidelined for a significant amount of time due to a severe knee injury, which means I won’t be able to play on the field. However, my determination to bounce back even stronger than before will grow stronger every day. Once again, I am confronted with a tough obstacle, but as always, I will emerge victorious!
