The reconstruction of Ansu Fati

Ansu Fati (Bissau; Guinea-Bissau; 18 years old) He already runs, even reaches 30 kilometers per hour, according to those who measure his career in Barça training, ready to reappear in the second week of September. That will be after the selection break, even though it is stipulated that in a few days he will join the group trained by Ronald Koeman. The decision, in any case, is in the hands of the player, whose patience has been decisive during a recovery that has lasted 10 months. Also four interventions of different depth since he was injured on November 9 against Betis by a Mandi tackle.

The party ruled that the striker suffered a partial tear of the meniscus and was operated on by Dr. Ramon Cugat with the supervision of the doctors of the Barça. Although the treatment could be conservative, it was agreed to intervene and preserve most of the meniscus to avoid wear and tear on the joint and protect it from future injuries. In addition, without a meniscus, when he was 28 years old it would be very difficult for him to play because of wear and tear.

Although the postoperative period at the Quirón clinic lasted five days — usually two — and was very painful, the recovery worked so well that the workloads increased and the knee swelled. There were medical discrepancies on the cause, with respect to the operation and recovery, and the total removal of the meniscus was proposed in the face of Cugat’s opposition.

Ansu then chose to visit Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet in Lyon, an orthopedic surgeon who solved knee problems at Benzema and Fekir. The surgeon agreed in the diagnosis with Cugat, but not with the treatment, because he also understood that it was necessary to see how he responded to the increase in workloads. The answer, once again, was negative and the knee swelled again. “That was the worst moment of all,” they recall from the footballer’s environment; “But Ansu said: ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to get out of this.” To do this, it was decided to change the roadmap, which led to new consultations and the final intervention of Jorge Mendes, the soccer player’s agent. The Portuguese went to the Porto doctor and head of the Portuguese team’s medical services, José Carlos Noronha, who performed an arthroscopy on Ansu Fati and, finally, the meniscus was not removed.

The player, however, did not return to Barcelona, ​​but began his recovery in Madrid with Joaquín Juan, a recognized physiotherapist who has worked with Gasoline, Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo. But he made a decision that could have missed anyone, but not those who know him. “I’ll do it alone, I’ll be alone in the hotel,” he resolved. Thus, in double sessions in the gym of the boutique hotel where he was staying (near Colón and without luxuries because what he wanted was comfort to work well), the Barça winger began the final set-up.

But it is that the work culture is something that Fati already developed in 2015, when the tibia broke. “A true professional. He had routines, he took it more seriously than anyone else and did not stop until he recovered ”, they recall from the Spanish federation, as they always followed him closely, in fact, they called him a day after the FIFA give your authorization. This time it was no different. “Ansu has worked like crazy. He has not taken any holidays, none on the beach … Nothing at all. He has only worried about coming back because his greatest desire is to succeed in football and at the Camp Nou ”, reveal sources from the player’s environment, also satisfied by the determination with which he has returned.

Although, yes, Ansu received from time to time visits from his family and friends, in addition to infinite messages from his colleagues. “He is not a pimp or a cocky, he is a boy who laughs but at the same time very shy. He makes himself be loved ”, say those who have coincided with him in the Barça dressing room. “Laporta and Koeman have also been on top and that has encouraged him ”, they add from Fati’s surroundings, who after a month and a half returned to the Barca sports city, already with the preseason underway. Along the way, the Eurocup and the Olympics have been lost.

Different player

Ansu already knows that now it will be his turn, possibly, to go through a process of muscle injuries after being unemployed for so long, but he hopes to return to being his usual self because on the other occasion, while still a child, when his tibia broke, he played a game very bad for the second to celebrate a hat-trick. They believe the same in Barcelona: “Of course we have brutal hopes for him. But you have to see how it comes … The physical issue will mark a lot. If he feels good, if his knee responds, he is a different player who can make a difference ”. But for that, Ansu already had an answer. Very mature and mentally strong, in the hands of rehabilitators and doctors, he responds: “Don’t worry, we’re going to get out of this.”

He has learned to take care of his body and has strengthened his mind after his debut in the League on August 25, 2019, precisely against him. Betis, and break precocity records as a scorer for Barça and the Spanish team. Which does not mean that he is not a bit sorry because he missed the chance to win the Golden Boy – the Ballon d’Or for under-21 players that the Italian sports newspaper delivers Tuttosport—, no matter how much this new course has as a revalidation. So they await him on the pitch and in the Camp Nou offices after being applauded at the presentation of the squad during the gamper trophy. Koeman wants him to form an attack with Griezmann and Memphis while Laporta aspires to renew a contract that ends in 2022 with the option to be extended until 2024. “There will be no problems”, they point out from the two parties involved, the player’s environment and the sports area blaugrana.

Everything was so fast on the court and it was so explosive that surely many were impatient with his recovery, needing the team and the selection of his contest. Always tenacious and positive, today he smiles again because his knee no longer swells and he maintains a good part of the meniscus, which is what it was about from the beginning, when he was injured against Betis in November 2020.

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