Football can be a cruel sport at times, and Giuseppe Rossi knows this too well.
The 27-year-old has been savaged by injury for much of his career, and has prevented him from perhaps becoming a household name in world football.
You could forgive Rossi for throwing in the towel and losing faith in football after his recent setback, ruled out for at least five months following an injury to his knee meniscus.
This latest injury to the Italian follows a wretched run of serious injuries dating back to 2011.
After starring in his breakthrough season with Villarreal in 2010-11, scoring 32 goals in 56 appearances, on October 26 of 2011 against Real Madrid, Rossi injured his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, ruling him out for six months. This proved to be his last game for the Spanish club.
On the road to recovery, Rossi suffered a relapse in training inApril 2012, and was out for a further 10 months.
Seeking a change of scenery following a frustrating 18 months for both player and club, Villarreal agreed to sell Rossi to Fiorentina for approximately €11.8 million on January 4, 2013. In something of a calculated risk for the Serie A side.
Rossi’s career with the Viola started brightly enough, scoring his first goal in 23 months in Fiorentina’s opening match of the 2013-14 Serie A season – a 2-1 defeat of Catania. He would go on to have a blazing first half of the season, leading the Serie A goal-scorers with 14 in 18 league appearances before injury struck again.
On January 5, 2014, almost exactly a year after he signed for the Viola, Rossi suffered a second-degree sprain of his medial collateral ligament again in his right knee, and was ruled out for a further four months.
He retuned in May in a bid to to force his way into Cesare Prandelli’s Italy side for the World Cup, but failed to make the final 23-man squad which was something of a surprise to many given his early season form.
In two years with Fiorentina, the former Manchester United youth product has played just 22 matches, but has scored 16 times during them. His goal-scoring record is outstanding and everyone is aware of his talent, he unfortunately just breaks down every time he appears to be hitting his straps.
It would be shallow to suggest that Rossi’s body has not been made to withstand the brutality that is professional football, given how incredibly unlucky the American-born striker has been. Whether we will see the best of Rossi again remains a serious doubt, which is such a shame.
To the man’s credit, every time he returns from injury his tends to recapture some decent form, but after yet another setback, it could prove a stretch too far
At 27 years of age, Rossi should be starring in the prime years of his football career, but instead he has to settle with yet another strenuous rehabilitation program.
For his sake, and for the sake of Italian football fans, who love to watch Rossi at his magical best, let’s hope he can defy the odds and grace the pitch again.
