Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 84 - 75: Heading to Europe, Josep Guardiola

Chapter 84: Chapter 75: Heading to Europe, Josep Guardiola

Inside the office.

On the old Apple computer, a video was playing. It showed Ronaldo lying on a stretcher, being rushed into the players’ tunnel, his hands covering his face in agony as he let out gut-wrenching sobs.

The camera shook as the medical staff on either side of the stretcher ran hurriedly.

The scene was shocking.

The video ended. Chen Yu clicked the mouse and played it again.

A moment later, the heart-rending cries of pain filled the room once more.

This was a scene from the first leg of the Coppa Italia final between Inter Milan and Lazio on April 12th of last year.

Ronaldo, who had been recovering from an injury for four months, had just returned to the pitch. But a mere six minutes in, he collapsed in agony.

After the match, he was diagnosed with a ruptured patellar tendon and has been recovering ever since.

At the time, some media outlets reported it as an unprecedentedly severe injury, suggesting the "Alien" might have to retire from the sport for good.

Chen Yu had said Hardaway was like a shooting star.

But in comparison, Ronaldo was even more like one.

He was so young, yet he was already a two-time World Player of the Year and a superstar hailed as the third "King of Football."

But the media wasn’t just spouting nonsense.

’The patellar tendon!’

It’s the thickest and strongest tendon in the human body.

One end connects to the patella, which is encased by the quadriceps femoris, and the other end connects to the tibia of the lower leg. Once it ruptures, the patella retracts upward.

More importantly, this tendon is responsible for bending and straightening the leg, making its significance self-evident.

As he was watching, Brian pushed the door open and came in.

"Chen, you were looking for me?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Chen Yu turned off the video, gestured for Brian to sit, and then said, "I might have to go away for a while. It won’t be long, about a week."

There were two main reasons Ronaldo had sought him out this time.

The first was his reputation.

By curing Hill and operating on Hardaway, Chen Yu had truly made a name for himself.

After all, this was Hill and Hardaway—some of the most famous basketball stars in the United States, who were also widely known around the world.

With so many media outlets reporting on them, Chen Yu’s reputation had naturally spread.

In particular, Hill’s unbelievably hot form after his return was the most direct testament to just how brilliant Chen Yu’s medical skills were.

That was one reason.

Secondly, Calva, himself a former star athlete and the current Vice President of Major League Baseball, had a vast network in the sports world. He knew a super-agent over in Europe, Giovanni Blanchini.

And this Blanchini was a member of Ronaldo’s team of agents.

He had seen the media reports from the United States and taken the initiative to contact Calva, asking for an introduction so he could invite Chen Yu to handle Ronaldo’s rehabilitation.

Just for rehabilitation.

Last April, after Ronaldo was injured, he immediately went to Paris and had surgery at the famous Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.

In truth, "famous" was a relative term.

There was still a bit of a gap between the standard of medical care in Europe and the United States.

Ronaldo had his first cartilage repair surgery done at this same hospital. This was his second time going under the knife for a major injury, and it had been eight months since the operation.

However, his recovery was not progressing as well as hoped.

Meanwhile, countries were preparing for next year’s World Cup, and regional qualifiers were in full swing. The national teams were all in preparation. At this critical juncture, if Ronaldo couldn’t recover in time to participate in next year’s World Cup, the financial loss for agents like Blanchini would be immense.

Fortunately, Chen Yu had already proven his expertise in rehabilitation with Hill’s case.

Brian was slightly taken aback and asked hurriedly, "Where are you going? Has something happened? Do you need my help?"

Although Chen Yu was with the team, his contract didn’t stipulate that he had to stay with them at all times. He was free to leave whenever personal matters arose.

Chen Yu said, "I’m going to Europe. I have a patient to see there."

He didn’t say who it was.

Brian didn’t ask either. With Chen Yu’s reputation, it was normal for patients to seek him out.

’But for Chen Yu to make a special trip to Europe, it must not be an ordinary patient.’

"Okay, no problem on my end." No one on the team was injured at the moment, and besides, if Chen Yu was away, they still had Nelson.

Chen Yu thanked him, then added after a moment of thought, "But before I go, I need to have a talk with Jason."

At this point, Chen Yu asked tentatively, "Brian, after what happened the day before yesterday, how do you guys plan on handling Jason?"

The day before yesterday, those women in the stands had publicly accused J Kidd of being a domestic abuser, setting off a firestorm throughout the entire United States sports world.

Right now, the media coverage was a one-sided flood of condemnation and criticism.

A subsequent investigation revealed that these women were from a local Phoenix women’s association.

That group was not easy to deal with. They were all tough nuts to crack, and anyone who got on their bad side was in for a world of hurt.

So now, J Kidd’s "Mr. Nice Guy" image was completely shattered, and the pressure on the team must be immense. If Brian wanted to wash his hands of the problem and just trade J Kidd away, then Chen Yu would take a different approach in their conversation—focusing on leaving the center of the storm and starting a new life.

If Brian still wanted to keep J Kidd, then Chen Yu would need to talk about how to face adversity and overcome it.

The approaches were completely different.

Brian clearly understood. He rubbed his temples, vexed, and sighed heavily. "To be honest, I really do want to trade him. But you should know, trading him at a time like this would be a huge loss."

He was a hot potato. Who would dare take him?

This meant that J Kidd’s trade value would plummet. A player who could have originally been traded for an All-Star might now only fetch a regular starter.