Roma forward Nicolò Zaniolo has returned to the national team after the ACL injury and said he’s ‘honoured to be a part of this group’.
The Giallorossi star has recovered from the two differetn ACL ruptures and has returned to play for the Capitoline.
Zaniolo said his long way back to the pitch culminated in a ‘perfect evening’ when he scored against Trabzonspor in the Europa Conference League.
“It was a perfect evening. I hope there are many more,” Zaniolo told RAI. “But it was tough. Much more than when I was injured the first time.
“In Holland I got a blow. I cried for a week. I was coming from six, seven months of rehabilitation and starting all over again.
“Yet, with my work, I discovered that I had energies within me that I didn’t know. And I grew as a man, as a person, as a footballer. I can say it now: not all evils come to harm.”
Zaniolo met up with the Italy squad and found an old friend in Moise Kean at Coverciano.
“We greeted each other with affection,” Zaniolo added. “I missed him, he’s a great friend.
“He has matured, he’s focused on the target. Like me, he dreams of being part of this national team. Of course, we know the strength of this side, the key to win: cohesion and full harmony.”
The youngster said he’s ‘honoured’ to be part of Roberto Mancini’s squad.
“I’m already honoured to be part of this group,” he continued. “I will need humility to write more pages.
“I want to break the world, but with the right mind, calmly. Football is everything for me since I was little. I didn’t talk to Mancini, but I know what he wants.”
Jose Mourinho has started life at Roma with four wins in four games and Zaniolo hopes they will ‘achieve many things’ together at the Olimpico.
“He’s a great coach, charismatic on and off the pitch,” Zaniolo said about the Portuguese tactician. “He knows how to make a group; he goes along with everyone, hands-on.
“I expected him to be like this: a quiet type, who says things as they are, tough but also good. I hope to achieve many things with him.”