In Turin, on the Granata side, the long-awaited and much-feared results have arrived on the injury suffered by Duvan Zapata at San Siro, during the match against Inter. “The instrumental tests to which Duvan Zapata was subjected, after leaving the field prematurely in the match against Inter, showed a lesion of the anterior cruciate ligament, the medial meniscus and the lateral meniscus“. In short, a very dark picture that has only one meaning: the Colombian striker has already finished the season, leaving a big hole on Vanoli’s board (and the many fantasy football players who had invested a lot in him).
While waiting for January, i.e. with the advent of the repair market, the coach who arrived in the summer from Venezia will therefore have to rely on the other two strikers in the squad: Ché Adams and Antonio Sanabria. There will also be a need for Karamoh, over whose head a big question mark has been hovering for several seasons: talent to wait for or vanished promise?
But, in addition to the numbers, what Toro loses most with Zapata’s injury is the leadership that the striker, purchased from Atalanta two summers ago, brings to the pitch. A ruthless finisher but also a guide for his teammatesa locker room man, a true point of reference. And his ‘stop’ comes at a delicate moment: the Granata started very well, even reaching the top of Serie A in September, but they certainly need to confirm this good start to try to stay in that part of the table that means Europe. Toro without Zapata will have to prove that they are so cohesive as to find, also thanks to the relaunch of Vlasic, the strength to remain in the noble parts of the championship. Will it therefore be up to Ricci, leader of the midfield, to take on the responsibility of leadership on the pitch? Or is the new ‘guru’ Saul Coco, ‘garra’ defender and scorer of beautiful goals?
In the meantime, the only thing to do is to send, as Torino did, a message of closeness to the ‘cougar’, with the hope of seeing him return as soon as possible: “The entire Torino Football Club affectionately embraces Duvan with the I hope to see him as a protagonist on the pitch again as soon as possible with the grenade shirt.” Good recovery Duvan, Italian football awaits you.