© EuroFootball.com
The joy of the "Roma" club, which secured their tenth victory on Sunday and equalled the record of Italian champions, was greatly overshadowed by the injury of the team's captain Francesco Totti - the Italian national team goalkeeper suffered a severe ankle injury and will not be able to play for about two and a half months.
At the beginning of the match against "Empoli" at the Rome Olympic Stadium, Richard Vanigli toughly played with the 29-year-old leader of the home team, causing him to collapse awkwardly and suffer an injury that prevented him from continuing the game. Further examinations revealed that the player had a fractured left ankle bone and the tendons were also damaged.
"After celebrating the victory, the results of the examinations were a terrible surprise to us. Francesco said that he felt the bone snap when he fell to the ground at that moment, but then we thought he was mistaken. Despite our 10 consecutive victories, we don't have much to celebrate without our captain," said "Roma" goalkeeper Daniele De Rossi.
Last night, Francesco Totti underwent surgery and a plate with ten screws was inserted in his leg. According to preliminary data, the player will need about a month and a half to recover, so he will not participate in next week's Rome derby and will miss almost the entire remaining part of the season.
Such news not only saddened the fans of the "Roma" club, but also worried the entire Italy and the national team coach and supporters - as one of the most talented players of the "Squadra Azzura" will probably only return to the lineup at the beginning of May, with just one month to regain his fitness before the start of the World Cup in June.
The head coach of the Italian national team, Marcelo Lippi, expressed his hope that F. Totti will recover, as there are no replacements for him in the team: "Totti is one of our most important players. Obviously, there is no one around who can play as he does. I won't be super-optimistic, but I believe he will have time to recover. Now we have to accept what happened and focus on his rehabilitation."
