Riccardo Calafiori feared he would struggle to walk after a serious knee injury at 16, but he is now eyeing Premier League success with Arsenal.
For the 22-year-old Arsenal and Italy defender it is a reminder of just how close he came to his dreams of a career in football being ended before it had really started.
It may not have felt like it at the time, but that serious injury is what Calafiori credits for making him into the player he is today. During his recovery he was visited in hospital regularly by Roma and Italy legend Daniele de Rossi, who also gave the teenage Calafiori lifts to his physio sessions. "I spoke to him about coming to Arsenal and he said 'this one of the biggest opportunities for you to improve as a player'."It took almost a full year for Calafiori to recover from injury but the long road to a career in football was complete in August 2020, when he made his full debut for Roma.
It proved the right decision as he swiftly became a key player for the Italians, helping them to secure a return to the Champions League for the first time in 60 years. "He tried to convince me but I was already convinced. Not just because it is Arsenal but because it is Mikel."
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