Ivan Strinić will make a return to the football pitch!
After Ivan Strinić’s medical team at AC Milan halted the Croatian footballer's career and diagnosed him with a heart condition, Monday’s specialist medical examinations at the clinic in Italy (Padua) showed positive results and gave the World Cup finalist the green light to return to the football pitch, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on November 13, 2018.
Ivan Strinić spoke to Slobodna Dalmacija from Italy after the medical inspection.
“Things are positive. Most of the reviews have been done and the first impressions are very good. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I have to do some small tests so we will have the whole picture, but I have already done the major tests and everything is positive, all the doctors are satisfied. Everything is going the right way so I can come back. For now, everything is fine,” Strinić said from the road to Milan.
Will Strinić attend Croatia’s game against Spain on Thursday in Zagreb?
“Ha, ha, ha… Little by little,” Strinić laughed.
Recall, the World Cup defender learned of the shocking news three months ago, which forced his career to be put on hold.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić will especially enjoy the news after his comments on Monday about the lack of options for the left position, which Strinić held firmly at the World Cup.
When can we expect Strinić to return to training?
“I should start training right away. Okay, I will not go 200 percent off the bat, it is likely that the club will prepare a program to avoid any further complications after the long break. I will probably have a special training regimen. I expect to start training next week,” said Strinić.
Will Strinić be in top form for the Euro qualifications in March next year?
“We'll see. I cannot wait for the games, to come back to the national team. I hope that I will be ready by then, and most importantly, that there is no injury on the way there,” added Strinić, who spent the past three months at home with family and friends in Split and Dalmatia.
The long break and great anticipation could not have been easy for the defender to go through.
"It’ll be much easier now, but I was not so worried about it. I assumed and expected that everything would happen like this. Now I will make every effort to forget everything that happened, train, and start with a new beginning,” Strinić concluded.
After the biggest success of his career (becoming a World Cup finalist in Russia), followed by joining the ranks of the famous AC Milan, Ivan Strinić was forced to put his career on hold due to heart problems.
As we wrote back in August, all footballers in the Serie A are obliged to undergo a routine check every six months. Strinić's check-up in August at the beginning of club preparations revealed an onset of hypertrophy of the heart muscle, which required that further and more detailed tests be carried out.
"AC Milan informs that during routine medical tests, carried out on all professional athletes in Italy, it was found that Ivan Strinić suffers from the beginnings of hypertrophy in the cardiac muscle which will need further tests following a rest period. For this reason, the player will have to temporarily suspend competitive sports activity until the exams are completed," the club confirmed on their official website back in August.
