Former Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan star Gianluca Zambrotta has suffered a devastating physical decline since he hung up his boots in 2014. And he claims that no number of operations can save him from the inevitability of getting a prosthetic leg, or legs, in the future.
Zambrotta was part of the Italy team that won the World Cup in 2006, and he picked up just shy of 100 caps for the national team. The 48-year-old managed to avoid major injuries during his playing days, allowing him to rack up nearly 600 club appearances for some of the best sides in Europe.
But an aggressive form of genu varum – a deformity recognisable by bowing at the knees – started to have an effect in retirement, and it is getting worse over time.
Leading experts and doctors have been unable to tell Zambrotta how, in his current state, he is still able to partake in physical activities. And although more surgeries are on the horizon, he claims he will eventually end up getting a ‘full prosthesis’.
Zambrotta told The BSMT podcast: “Over time, my legs have become bowed. During my career, I didn’t have any major injuries. I’ve had three operations on my internal menisci. Currently, I don’t have them on either the left or the right, so over time, my legs have become bowed and today, I’m a laboratory model for many surgeons.
“Doctors look and ask how [I walk]. In a few years, I will have to wear a full prosthesis. The problem has worsened over time, due to both some genetic exposure and the lack of internal menisci. And so perhaps I should have started working on it earlier.
“I will soon have surgery on both knees. I have visited three or four leading surgeons nationwide, and they can’t explain to me how I can have these knees or how I can engage in physical activities like padel tennis, for example.”
After a playing career which brought him three Serie A titles and a handful of domestic trophies, Zambrotta dabbled in management with Swiss outfit Chiasso and Indian side Delhi Dynamos. He now works as a pundit in Italy, where his medical treatment will continue.
“I’ll have to have an osteotomy,” he said. “Basically, they’ll straighten my legs by cutting small pieces of bone above and below and inserting plates to try to avoid having to get a full prosthesis now, although I’ll have to get one in a few years.”