Roma star Alessandro Florenzi says working his way back from new knee surgery has been difficult.
Florenzi has suffered two knee injuries inside six months this season.
He said, “When you rupture the cruciate ligament, you'll be dealing with that for the rest of your life and from that moment forth every day you'll have to train aware of that injury.
“It'll be an issue for the next 10, 15 years, as long as God lets me continue playing football. You have to work every day to prevent it getting damaged again.
“Now I am in the gym every day, but it's tough. I have to get it into my head that every day I need to work on the muscles to ensure the knee is protected and stable, otherwise I won't get much of a career."
The fact that Florenzi was so close to making his comeback for Roma made the relapse even harder to deal with.
“I was worse than the first time, because I wasn't expecting it. The first one, I felt this searing pain in the knee. The second time, I was in such good shape, there was no way it could happen.
“Psychologically, it was a huge blow. I'd be a liar if I said it wasn't. Fortunately my wife and my daughter at home supported me with love from that October 28, the day of the first operation. My family and friends invaded the Villa Stuart clinic for days to ensure I didn't feel alone. I'll forever be grateful to them."