Malinovsky: Recovery is going according to plan, even much better than we wanted

Midfielder Genoa And Ukrainian national team Ruslan Malinovsky spoke in detail about the injury he received in September, which knocked him out of action for a long time.

“I have already made inquiries: there is such a field in Venice… Alvaro Recoba once tore his cruciate ligaments on it. The irrigation system there does not always work properly. We played this match at 15:00 and in some places the ball flew through the area slippery, and in others it was very slow. And then there was a moment when the pass started, I wanted to kick the ball. I didn’t succeed because there was a shot. To get the ball, I had to take three steps. And at the last moment, Haps, Venice’s left winger, disorientated me. I wanted to knock the ball out in a tackle. When I made the tackle, my leg got stuck in the lawn. Our sports director then inspected the place. As it turned out, there was some kind of tubercle there, so the leg got stuck. And when I was already standing on my foot, I heard my leg crunch like grissini [итальянские хлебные палочки]. I heard this crunch, saw the leg and realized: “We’ve arrived.” It’s an accident.”

“This is the lateral fibula, I think that’s what it’s called. I broke it, unfortunately. The joint came out a little. This adds some problems. I watched this episode a hundred times. What happened cannot be changed. This is football, I have already had more than one operation. I can say that cruciate ligaments are twice as bad as what happened now. With cruciate ligaments, recovery and rehabilitation take much longer.”

Ruslan assures that his recovery process is going well and is looking forward to returning to the field:

“The unpleasant things have already passed. After the operation, the first two or three weeks were uncomfortable, but the last three weeks I have been working very hard. The recovery is going according to plan, even much better than we wanted. Lots of work to mobilize and strengthen the ankle, upper and lower muscles. Starting next Sunday, a lot of work begins, I’ll start doing cardio. We designed the program in such a way that every week we look at the results and analyze whether ankle flexibility has improved. And that’s very good.”

Let us remind you that the 31-year-old Ukrainian midfielder was injured in the second half of the away match against Venice (0:2) on September 21. The Ukrainian was unable to leave the field on his own and was carried away on a stretcher. Subsequent examination revealed a dislocated joint and a fracture of the fibula. Ruslan successfully underwent surgery the next day. The club reported that the Ukrainian is feeling well and will soon begin the recovery process at the club base.

Malinovsky played six matches for Genoa this season in all competitions, scoring one assist. Ruslan also took part in two September matches of the Ukrainian national team in the Nations League, appearing as a substitute both times – against Albania (1:2) and the Czech Republic (2:3).

Genoa is in 17th place in Serie A with 10 points. In the next match, the Griffins will play at home against Cagliari, a neighbor in the standings, on November 24.