Federico Chiesa’s season is over after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament and this is a defining moment in his career.
The 24-year-old Italian winger went down in the first half of Juventus’ thrilling 4-3 comeback win over Roma on Sunday and he painfully limped off the pitch a few minutes later, hoping to avoid bad news. Unfortunately for both himself and the Bianconeri fans, the tests revealed the ACL tear, which rules him out from the rest of this season.
An ACL tear can be an incredibly destructive injury for a player. Arsenal full back Héctor Bellerín, a player who was known for his incredible pace, never fully recovered after rupturing his cruciate ligament back in January 2019, with his iconic speed now just a memory.
Former Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero also famously tore his ACL back in 1998, and the player that returned the following summer hardly resembled the one that fell to the pitch on that cold November afternoon in Udine. Gone was his explosive pace and ability to easily skip past players, but he adapted his game and returned to becoming a strong player, although he never hit those heights of his pre-injury period again.
The Juventus winger could also continue following in the footsteps of Roberto Baggio; both players rose to prominence with Fiorentina before making the move to Turin, and both suffered ACL tears in their career. Baggio recovered and remained a top player, giving Chiesa some hope ahead of a long recovery.
With Chiesa’s season now over, the next 12 months will be incredibly crucial in his career. Not only will he have to carefully managed his recovery over a long period of time, but he’ll also have to survive the psychological impact of such an injury; players who have suffered an ACL tear have noted the difficulty in remaining positive during recovery and not feeling the fear of a repeat injury following their return.
The Italian winger will also have to avoid the temptation of rushing his recovery in order to be fit for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, provided that the Azzurri qualify through the play-offs first. With the tournament set to kick off in the final weeks of November, Chiesa will have to prioritise his recovery above being available for the Azzurri squad, as rushing back could have disastrous career consequences.
Last year Chiesa truly became a household name, but this year will be one of the most decisive of his career.