Fabrizio Tencone, Juventus‘ club doctor from 1993 to 2016, explained the risks surrounding Nicolo Zaniolo’s physical condition ahead of a possible summer move.
The 22-year-old Italian forward is not having an easy season under Jose Mourinho, struggling to show his best in the Italian capital despite consistent minutes. He missed almost all of last campaign due to a cruciate ligament rupture, something he suffered in the 2019-20 season as well.
Speaking to Tuttosport, Tencone discussed whether or not the Zaniolo signing is worth it for Juventus, considering his injury history.
“The financial investment is obviously an evaluation that is the managers’ responsibility, the task of the doctor is to evaluate the current state of health and try to predict the future one.
“If I were the club doctor, I would do a very accurate examination, because everything always starts with a manual examination, and I would do a series of specific tests, an X-ray, MRIs of the knees and certainly a series of tests to measure the recovery of leg strength.
“In addition, there is a very important and innovative test called ‘movement analysis test’ to understand if the athlete has any ‘motor strategies; that may increase the risk of injuring his knees.”
He touched on the possibility that the 22-year-old Italian forward could suffer the same injury again in the future.
“Honestly, we don’t know the exact percentage of risk of getting hurt a third time. Science tells us that after a cruciate ligament injury the chance of the same injury occurring, on the same knee or the other, is 15-20%.
“And the risk rises to 25-30% in young footballers, under 20 years old. But there is no evidence that has measured the risk of getting injured a third time.
“The player is young, he certainly has great fortitude and has come through the second operation well. So I wouldn’t doubt Zaniolo’s tenacity.”
Finally, Tencone gave his opinion on if Juventus should look to sign Zaniolo in the summer or look elsewhere due to his injury history.
“I’d recommend going ahead… with the medical examinations. But I would never dare to say no a talent. We know of perfectly recovered cases and Zaniolo deserves all the attention.”
The 22-year-old Zaniolo has often struggled with both minor and major injuries; this season, he has missed around 10 games due to injury and last campaign the cruciate ligament rupture ruled him out of action for 266 days.