Today is the 41st birthday of former Inter striker and Nigeria international Nwankwo Kanu.
The tall forward joined the Nerazzurri from Ajax in 1996, but medical tests revealed a heart defect which meant he couldn’t join up with the squad until April 1997.
Kanu had to go under the knife to repair an aortic valve, with the surgery reportedly paid out of the pocked of then Inter chairman Massimo Moratti.
That ultimately meant he couldn’t make a single appearance during what should have been his debut season.
Today is the 41st birthday of former Inter striker and Nigeria international Nwankwo Kanu.
The tall forward joined the Nerazzurri from Ajax in 1996, but medical tests revealed a heart defect which meant he couldn’t join up with the squad until April 1997.
Kanu had to go under the knife to repair an aortic valve, with the surgery reportedly paid out of the pocked of then Inter chairman Massimo Moratti.
That ultimately meant he couldn’t make a single appearance during what should have been his debut season.
He finally played his first game for the club in 1998, and on March 15 of that year he scored his only goal for the Beneamata against Atalanta.
After one appearance in the 1998-99 season, he was sold to Arsenal for a fee of around £4m.
Despite often being forced to play second fiddle to Nicolas Anelka and later Thierry Henry, Kanu was a success with the Gunners and won the Premier League in 2002 and 2004.
That was followed by spells at West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth, with the Nigerian winning the FA Cup with Pompey in 2008.
The club later collapsed into administration, with Kanu still due £3m in wages, but he later agreed to forfeit the money owed to him.
Kanu also won 83 caps for Nigeria, at the time a record, scoring 13 goals and playing in three World Cups.