“I’ll be back soon”. With that phrase, Mauro Icardi already started thinking about his return to the soccer fieldsdespite the fact that this Monday I just had operation for ruptured cruciate ligaments of the right kneewhich will force him to be out for several months for the Galatasaray of Türkiyewhere he was a scorer and idol of the fans since his arrival a year and a half ago.
“Thank you dear Guille and Thank you to all the Staff who worked on this operation to make it successful. I also want to thank my great Family @galatasaray for paying attention to every detail and organizing everything”he wrote in a post on his official Instagram account.
Mauro Icardi suffered one of the worst – among the most recurrent – injuries that a footballer can have, during the match that Galatasaray beat English Tottenham 3 to 2 in Istanbul for the fourth round of the league phase of the Europa League.
The maneuver in which the Rosario striker was injured was extremely unfortunate: with just under 10 minutes remaining in the match that his team was winning at the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi in Istanbul, Icardi went to pressure the rival goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, and, without any contact, he collapsed.
He immediately appeared extremely painful and made gestures to the occupants of the substitute bench to indicate that he could not continue playing. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and replaced by Belgian Michy Batshuayi. Just a few hours later the worst prognosis was confirmed.
Although there is no reference to the time it will take for the recovery of the former Paris Saint-Germain, Inter and Sampdoria player, Icardi himself, in a post published on his Instagram account at that time, implied that his season was over.
“It’s time to be away for a few months, with a smile, working hard, and come back better. I wish a season full of achievements and successes to my teammates and the entire Galatasaray family. Thank you to everyone who cared and is close at this time. A kiss to everyone, I’ll be back soon”wrote the Argentine, who in this campaign played 14 meetings and converted six goals.
Once the news of Icardi’s injury was known, several teammates, such as Yunus Akgün, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, the Uruguayan Fernando Muslera, the Colombian Davinson Sánchez and the Hungarian Roland Sallai, greeted him through Instagram and wished him a speedy recovery. So did his coach, Okan Buruk, and former teammates such as Kerem Aktürkoğlu and the Italian Antonio Candreva.