Overview
- Charly Musonda is giving his fullest account yet of the studs-up tackle in September 2018 that tore his posterior cruciate ligament and left doctors warning he had only a 20% chance to play again.
- He says Chelsea initially declined recommended surgery, so he pressed ahead a month later on his doctor’s advice, then paid for extra rehab in Dubai and was fined for it as COVID rules further slowed his recovery.
- After returning to fitness, he recalls Thomas Tuchel showing interest but says club figures asked him to accept half his salary and another loan, and he adds he would have played for free to earn a chance.
- Later moves to Levante in Spain and Anorthosis in Cyprus did not revive his career, and unpaid wages in Cyprus contributed to his decision to retire last summer at age 28.
- PCL injuries are uncommon in football and are often treated without surgery to protect a player’s explosiveness, which helps explain why his rehab stretched to nearly four years and complicated a comeback.