It’s been a long time coming, but the day has finally arrived. It’s been almost a year since his second injury at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam while playing for the Italian national team, and two years since the first time he tore his ACL in a home loss against Juventus. Finally, Zaniolo is back on the pitch.
As reported in La Gazzetta Dello Sport, Roma’s wonderkid has been looked after over these past few months by Dr. Christian Fink of Innsbruck, a specialist in trauma surgery and sports traumatology recommended by the Friedkins. Fink monitored Zaniolo’s progress and emphasized throughout the entire recovery the importance of not rushing. In fact, after his second consecutive injury, Zaniolo was not handed a specific time schedule to follow. Instead, Fink took his time and gradually allowed the youngster to grow comfortable enough in order to step on the pitch and get back to training with a ball.
According to the Italian newspaper, yesterday proved to be a decisive day for the 21-year-old. Along with Manara, the club’s doctor, Fink met with Zaniolo at Trigoria (instead of Innsbruck) and gave him the official go-ahead that will allow Roma’s number 22 to take part in pre-season trainings under the leadership of Mourinho.
