Amid reports Nicolò Zaniolo will be out of action for nine months, Roma chief medic Federico Manara warns there will be ‘no pressure’ to rush his recovery, nor was he hurried along the first time.
The 21-year-old had only just returned after snapping the anterior cruciate ligament in January, then suffered the exact same injury to the other knee while on international duty last week.
Amid reports Nicolò Zaniolo will be out of action for nine months, Roma chief medic Federico Manara warns there will be ‘no pressure’ to rush his recovery, nor was he hurried along the first time.
The 21-year-old had only just returned after snapping the anterior cruciate ligament in January, then suffered the exact same injury to the other knee while on international duty last week.
“Nicolò is doing well, the surgery was completed successfully and the initial response [to the surgery] has been good,” Roma Head of Medicine Dr Manara told the club website.
“Right now he is back on his feet and is walking with the aid of crutches. If the healing progresses in line with what we are seeing, the player will return to Italy on Friday and will then start his recovery programme at Trigoria.
“Given that the recovery period for injuries like this is fairly standard, it has to be made absolutely clear that every athlete has to follow their own process. Given that, there will not be any pressure put on Nicolò, especially given he is eager to be back as it is.”
There were some suggestions Zaniolo suffered this injury because he had been rushed back too soon from the first surgery.
“Absolutely not. In July the player completed a series of tests and assessments that confirmed that he was ready to resume sporting activity.
“Beyond that, even before he went away with the national team, at the start of this season we did further tests that showed what great health the player was in – and in both of his legs, where there was no evidence of any muscular imbalance between them.
“There’s no link with the surgery performed on the other knee, which is why you can’t consider it in any way a relapse. However, there are some scientific studies, focusing on athletes around the same age of Nicolò, that have shown an elevated possibility of suffering the same injury in the other knee.”