Albertini was injured.
Less than a week from the first round of the UEFA Champions League qualifier, he pulled his left thigh muscle during training.
There was no fierce impact. It did not happen during a training match. It was when he turned around during a normal sprint. Regardless of whether he had finished running or not, his mood was very relaxed. This was just a warm-up before the start of training.
At that time, Twain was still talking to Kerslake about how to make tactical changes against Villarreal and to ask the team to pay attention during the usual training.
On the field, it was Albertini and George Wood’s group doing laps. Wood sprang ahead in the first sprint. He was always like this during usual training. He ran as hard as he did in official games. Albertini did not have to run as hard as that silly boy. He should have kept to his rhythm and speed, with George Wood easily shaking him off and leaving him in the dust.
However, it was different today. Right from the beginning, Albertini tried to nip at Wood’s heels and Wood dashed without knowing that Albertini was gritting his teeth to try and keep up. But competing with the young Wood in speed was too straining for the already 33-year-old Demetrio.
During the first return, Wood easily and smoothly turned around while Albertini suddenly slowed down. Then he went from running to walking. After a couple of steps, he simply stood still.
The first to realize the anomaly was the team doctor, Fleming, who was always on the sidelines of the training ground. He ran up when he saw Albertini stop.
Soon after, Kerslake’s attention was drawn by Fleming’s action. He interrupted his conversation with Twain and looked at the training ground. Twain followed his gaze and only saw the moment Albertini sat on the ground.
The other players apparently noticed their captain’s unusual behavior. They stopped their training, ran towards Albertini and surrounded him.
George Wood rushed to the finish line in one shot. And when he realized that no one else was around him, he turned his head in bafflement and saw the crowd behind him. He still did not know what had happened. He saw Fleming push through the crowd and rush in. Before his teammates could close the gap, Kerslake also rushed in. Twain was blocked outside.
After he rushed in, Fleming did a simple examination; Kerslake was at the side, asking non-stop, “What’s the situation?” Fleming did not answer him, but just stood up and called for a stretcher. Hearing that, Kerslake shut up.
Being lifted out of the training ground on a stretcher meant that the injury could be serious.
When he heard Fleming call for a stretcher, Twain pushed aside Wes Morgan and Franck Ribéry in front of him and squeezed in.
“Demetrio?”
When Albertini saw that Twain had appeared in front of him, he suddenly came to his senses. He found himself surrounded by his teammates, coaches, and team doctor. He saw through the gaps in the crowd that there were two men running up with the stretcher.
He abruptly put his hands out and struggled to sit up. “No, no need.” He was the captain of the team now. Being carried away on a stretcher during training and in front of all his teammates… Can’t I walk on my own? No.
“George!” Twain suddenly yelled, “Get over here and help carry Demetrio to the sidelines!”
Wood quickly ran up and parted the crowd. He obediently helped Albertini up and then supported him by the arm as they moved step by step to the sidelines.
After watching the two men and Fleming go to the sidelines, Twain turned and waved his hands. “Keep training, there’s nothing to look at.”
Then he turned around and went towards Albertini. Kerslake took the hint and blew the whistle. “Concentrate!”
Twain walked to Albertini’s side, looked at Wood beside him, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder. “Go back to training, there’s nothing more you can do here.”
When Wood was gone, Twain crouched down and comforted Albertini. “Don’t worry; you’ll be alright, Demetrio.”
Albertini nodded. “I’m going to miss the qualifying game.”
Twain waved that aside. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a qualifying game. You just wait to return and go straight to the actual games!”
Next to them, Fleming said to the two men who had just lifted the stretcher, “Take Demetrio to the infirmary.”
The two men stepped forward to help Albertini up and slowly walked off the training ground.
Fleming did not follow them but stayed behind.
“What’s the matter, Gary?”
Fleming shook his head. “I don’t know yet. I’ll only know his specific injury after he undergoes a detailed examination. But according to my experience, it doesn’t look good. He suddenly stopped when he turned and restarted. My guess is a pulled muscle. This kind of injury can be very troublesome. Even if he recovers within a short period of time, he will not be fully recovered. Instead, his injury may recur more frequently. As Demetrio gets older, it will become much more pronounced.”
Twain frowned and bit his lip.
It was the UEFA Champions League soon. As a player who was the team captain with plenty of championship experience that few players on the team had, Albertini’s injury at this time was a huge blow to the team.
Seeing that Twain did not speak, Fleming turned to leave. He was going to be busy with Albertini’s check-up to determine his injury and its severity.
Twain looked at Fleming’s back and turned to watch the players training on the field. Several players were obviously distracted and worried about Albertini’s injury. He looked up at the clear sky. He really wanted to curse.
Why was he so unlucky in 2005? Was this the end of his good luck? Was the ill fortune of injuries starting to plague his team?
What was a professional team most afraid of? It was not a strong opponent, a bad environment, or even a vicious referee working against them. They were most afraid of injury.
No matter how powerful or invincible they were, a team could be brought down by an injury overnight even if they had established a great undertaking that surpassed all others of its kind.
Twain was reluctant to think about the teams and players who had been dragged down by injuries. He felt that it was ominous to even think about the lessons of those predecessors.
Looking at the flickers of doubt in his players’ eyes, Twain steadied his mind and stood on the sidelines again. He did not turn to leave or look around distractedly. He stood on the sidelines and supervised the training as usual.
He looked as though nothing had happened here just a few minutes ago.
※※※
The results came out a day later. Twain was the first to get the results, even before Albertini himself. This was customary in English football. A player’s knowledge of his injury must be after the team manager had been informed. Any team doctor who directly told the players of their injuries before the managers would be dismissed by the clubs and would almost be never appointed by other clubs.
Albertini had a pulled muscle in his left thigh. The estimated recovery time was one month, and the full recovery time was unknown.
“Basically, there’s little possibility of a full recovery due to his age,” Fleming said to Twain. “After one month, he’ll look like he’s not hurt, but we won’t know when he’s going to get hurt again in the same area. Moreover, this was not his first injury. That area belongs to an old injury over the course of his career. Frankly speaking, this cannot be cured. All we can do is try to let him recover as soon as possible and then take good care of him. He will undergo a half-hour massage after training every day. That will help…”
Twain interrupted him. “Don’t rush his recovery. Better to be safe. I can wait. I don’t want to rush him back to the field and then get hurt again after playing two games. I don’t want Albertini to rest for a month to play two games, and then rest again for another month.”
“In that case, the team’s game…”
“That’s for me to worry about, Gary. You just let Demetrio rehabilitate. Don’t tell him the exact recovery time. Just let him know that he’ll get better soon.”
Fleming was silent for a moment and then nodded. “I understand.”
After he left Twain, Fleming went back to his own office. Twain was right. He did not have to worry about what would happen to the team without Albertini. The only thing he needed to worry about was how to let Albertini recuperate with peace of mind and how to let Albertini’s injury heal smoothly. He was the head of the Forest team’s medical team and was duty-bound to do those things.
But he did not believe that he could hide that from Albertini. Demetrio was not a young man who had just entered professional football. Some things could be understood just by looking.
However, he also knew that Twain was being kind, so he could only do his best.
On this end, Fleming fretted about how to face Albertini; on the other side, Twain agonized over Albertini’s injury.
Fleming had just stepped out of his office. When he closed the door behind him, he swore.
Only thirty-three years old! Matthäus played till he was forty years old, and Zidane’s retirement at the age of thirty-four was considered too early. You’re not old, Demetrio.