Courtois: the keys to a miraculous recovery

#Courtois #keys #miraculous #recovery

He has given no respite to adversity. Thibaut Courtois (Bree, Belgium, 1992) is a rock on a mental level and has not given in emotionally before the two heavy stones that destiny put in his path. When nine months have passed since his torn cruciate ligament in his left knee (August 10), the hero of the Fourteenth has been forced to redouble his efforts to advance in the rehabilitation of his right knee meniscus injury, suffered at a time when he was already savoring his return to the fields and for which he underwent surgery on March 20. After overcoming the initial shock after the second impact, his attitude turned positive in a very short time and within the estimated time for rehabilitation from a serious injury, he has recovered from two. The doctors and physios who have treated him have been impressed with his dazzling and efficient improvement.

His emotional strength has been a cornerstone in his “miraculous” recovery. From a very young age he cultivated self-discipline and applied himself to the culture of effort. Therefore, the demands that he imposes on himself do not allow him to reduce even one iota the workload necessary to return to the level required by the best goalkeeper in the world. As happened after his injury in August, the Belgian has complemented, in this second phase, the sessions scheduled in Valdebebas by the Real Madrid medical team with a rigorous individual plan. With private physiotherapists, Courtois has spent many hours during his recovery in the afternoons to strengthen the damaged areas. The advice that his mother, a physiotherapist by profession, gave him since he was a child, has been part of his road map.

He has had to live through months of suffering, of gritting his teeth and enduring the pain during the hard days of treatment and severe machine routines to strengthen his muscles, but he has barely shown any symptoms of weakness. Aside from the exhausting daily recovery sessions, “Giraffe”, as he is nicknamed in the white locker room, has taken maximum care, as usual, with food and rest as part of the process in the double “return operation”. Her focus on that goal is almost obsessive.

Courtois, with Tom Brady on April 21.REALMADRIDrealmadrid.com

One of his sources of inspiration is his friend Tom Brady, the best player in NFL history, who overcame a long history of physical setbacks (including a torn cruciate ligament) and was able to last until he was 44 at the highest level in a sport that punishes the body like few others and takes physical resistance to the limit. A t-shirt that the Californian quarterback sent him a long time ago reminds him that fortitude and determination are part of success. A few days ago he was able to chat with him during the megastar’s visit to Madrid to watch the Classic. The way Roger Federer, who retired at the age of 41 due to knee ailments, overcame 12 injuries in 21 seasons, has also been an added motivation. Both sports icons, who were still active after four decades, are two of the driving forces that have served as a stimulus to the guardian of the white goal.

Meanwhile, “Tibu” has not neglected his hectic family and business life. Every time he can, he accompanies little Nicolás to training, matches or tournaments with the Real Madrid junior team, in which he plays as a midfielder, and his daughter Adriana to rhythmic gymnastics classes. With his wife, the Israeli Mishel Gerzig, a soccer fan before meeting the Belgian, he advances in his knowledge of Hebrew, another language in which the insatiable polyglot is making giant strides.

He also takes advantage of the time to follow his friends Doncic and Embiid in the NBA, Sainz and Alonso in F1, to develop the TC Racing F4 team with the advice of driver Roberto Mehri, take care of his real estate investments in Belgium (supervised by his father, a financier by profession) or promote his music company Artist Amplifier.

He’s back and he’ll come back as strong as he left. It is a message that he has not stopped repeating to his closest circle. It was his great challenge and he has delivered it with maximum dedication. Your return will be through the front door. Bree’s Spartan has no doubts about her future performance and neither do those who know him well.

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