Genoa forward Giuseppe Rossi confessed he had to find interior strength to deal with his “fragile knees” and hasn’t lost hope of an Italy recall.
The striker turned 31 in February, but his career has been ripped apart by a series of devastating knee injuries.
“When you have fragile knees, you need to make up for it with a strong mind,” Pepito told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.
Genoa forward Giuseppe Rossi confessed he had to find interior strength to deal with his “fragile knees” and hasn’t lost hope of an Italy recall.
The striker turned 31 in February, but his career has been ripped apart by a series of devastating knee injuries.
“When you have fragile knees, you need to make up for it with a strong mind,” Pepito told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper.
“If that is fragile too, then you’re not going to find the strength to get back on your feet. I never thought about quitting, even when others suggested I should. I never even took it into consideration.
“Over the summer, I worked for hours in the gym and I wondered why I was doing it, as I didn’t even have a club. I did it to return and I managed that.
“I am now at Genoa, I am back on the field and above all I am back to scoring goals. There are still some things I want to achieve.
“Wearing the Italy jersey was marvellous for me. The first time playing for Italy is my happiest memory: a dozen years earlier, I was at the stadium enchanted by Roberto Baggio’s football, then aged just over 20, I was on that pitch singing the anthem with the World Cup holders… It was indescribable.
“I missed the 2010 World Cup, and in 2014, plus the Euros, yet the dream of wearing the Azzurri jersey in a major competition hasn’t left me yet. I know that I’ll have to work hard to deserve a call-up, but I will give it my all.”