Juventus star Federico Chiesa reflected on his long path to recovery after tearing his cruciate ligament in January 2022, detailing his difficulties on the sidelines.
The 25-year-old Italian winger, who played a leading role in the Azzurri’s Euro 2020 success, suffered the serious injury in a 4-3 win over Roma 13 months ago. Chiesa was forced to the sidelines for over 10 months as he slowly worked on his recovery, keen to avoid any serious setbacks on his quest to return to action.
Speaking in the Amazon Prime Video documentary ‘Back on Track’, Chiesa opened up about the difficulties he encountered in the early stages of his recovery.
“After the surgery, I was on crutches for six weeks. It was as if I had never left the hospital because even with small things, I had to have someone’s help.
“When I gave up the crutches it was liberating, I couldn’t stand them anymore.”
The Italian winger then remembered his early squad training sessions after making his return.
“It was fun, you have fun not letting those in the middle take the ball. I felt so much part of the game that I didn’t think about my injury.
“My teammates were teasing me saying ‘that’s who’s back, the redeemer’.
“I had two thoughts before returning to the field: will I be okay? I did everything I could do to get back to my level.”
Chiesa made his first start in over a year for Juventus in their 5-1 defeat to Napoli on January 13, and he also started in the 1-0 Coppa Italia win over Lazio, showing positive signs. Since his return, he’s already scored one goal and provided two assists, adding a key attacking outlet to Massimiliano Allegri’s squad.
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