Former Barca star and '1,000 days in hell'

Three years after a devastating knee injury, Gerard Deulofeu is still yet to return to the pitch.

Next January, Gerard Deulofeu will be three years removed from the horrific injury he suffered – a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in his right knee – against Sampdoria. Nearly 1,000 days on, the pitch remains a distant dream, but the Catalan has never stopped fighting.

“I know I’m trying to do something special. It’s probably the hardest recovery in football history,” Deulofeu told The Guardian . “If I come back, it will be more than a thousand days of waiting.”

Deulofeu’s injury was not limited to ligaments or meniscus. After surgery in Rome, he suffered a severe infection that severely damaged the cartilage in his knee. “When I get older, this knee could be completely destroyed because of that complication,” he said. “This is not a normal injury – it has changed my life.”

Despite the termination of his contract, Udinese - Deulofeu's last club - have not abandoned him. They have allowed the former Barca player to continue his treatment at their training centre, in the hope of seeing him back.

“They are waiting for me to recover, helping me step by step. I am grateful to them for that,” the 31-year-old player confided.

Three years without football, without spectators, without cheers - for Deulofeu, it was a fierce mental battle. “Sometimes I think I should stop, that this career is enough. I have a family, I have children, and I can live in peace,” he said. “But my wife always says: You have to try one more time, you will do it.”

Three years without football, without spectators, without cheers - for Deulofeu, it was a fierce mental battle.

In times of weakness, it is the look in my son’s eyes that gives me the greatest motivation. “He always asks me when I will return to the pitch. That question makes me unable to give up,” Deulofeu confided. “I take very good care of my body. If anyone can do this, it is me.”

Deulofeu was once a shining jewel of La Masia, seen as the future of Barcelona. His career spanned Everton, Sevilla, Milan, Watford and Udinese, with memorable moments mixed with regrets.

“People might say I should have had more success,” he said. “But I played for Barça, Milan, won the Europa League with Sevilla, played in the Champions League, scored for Spain and reached the FA Cup final with Watford… Of course, it could have been better, but I have nothing to complain about.”

For the past three years, Gerard Deulofeu has been living on the border between hope and despair. But amidst those “1,000 days in hell”, he still holds on to a belief: one day, cheers will resound again, and Deulofeu - the one who once fell - will once again step into the light.

Source: https://znews.vn/cuu-sao-barca-va-1000-ngay-trong-dia-nguc-post1594780.html