Chievo and Juventus defender Federico Mattiello’s horrific injury “will be just a bad memory,” said his doctors.
The 19-year-old was making only his second Serie A start when his tibia and fibula shattered during a collision with Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan on Sunday afternoon.
He went under the knife that same night at the Sacro Cuore di Negrar hospital and is expected to be out of action for only around seven months.
Chievo and Juventus defender Federico Mattiello’s horrific injury “will be just a bad memory,” said his doctors.
The 19-year-old was making only his second Serie A start when his tibia and fibula shattered during a collision with Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan on Sunday afternoon.
He went under the knife that same night at the Sacro Cuore di Negrar hospital and is expected to be out of action for only around seven months.
“The surgery went very well,” Professor Claudio Zorzi told Tuttosport.
“Clearly as it was a compound fracture we need to be very careful, as there’s always going to be a risk when there’s a lesion and the soft tissue is exposed.
“We are watching the lad carefully to ensure there are no infections. We chose to use a plaque and not a screw to keep the bone in place. Now it’s up to him to heal. The surgery took a couple of hours.
“We wanted to take it slowly so everything was done perfectly. When an incident like this happens, being so young always helps in the recovery process.
“When the fracture heals, all this will just be a bad memory.”