"Around the walls, painted black up to halfway, are motivational slogans that have become common currency in training environments. Go hard or go home, one of them urges. Hard work beats talent, when talent chooses not to work hard, cautions another. Beneath the second of those messages Gerard Deulofeu stands in conversation with Angel Acena, Udinese's rehab fitness coach. They are a team now, working towards a goal that never quite stands still."
"There is a plaster on his right leg slightly above the knee; he has just undergone his monthly injection and, nearly 33 months after he last played football, the consequences are nothing new. For the first 24 hours it's urgh, he winces. At close quarters, the difference between the visible mass of his legs is pronounced. Deulofeu wants to create a miracle: for himself and for every player who, like him, is forced to handle the isolation and stifling uncertainty wreaked by devastating injury."
Gerard Deulofeu follows a disciplined rehabilitation routine at Udinese with one-to-one work alongside the club's rehab fitness coach, arriving early for consecutive strength sessions and constant monitoring. Training spaces display motivational slogans that frame the daily effort. He has a plaster above his knee after a monthly injection and is coping with pain and pronounced muscle-mass difference between his legs. The underlying problem is an ACL injury compounded by a post-surgical infection, extending his time away to nearly 33 months. He aims for an extraordinary comeback and frames the recovery as a near-miracle for himself and fellow injured players.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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