PZPN

The last sixteen months in the  Polish  national was a real sinusoid for Arkadiusz Milik. The supporters of the Polish National Team remember the date of 8 October 2016 and the match of the World Cup qualifiers against Denmark perfectly. The basic player of the coach Adam Nawałka suffered a severe knee injury that eliminated him from the game for several months. Everybody supported Milik in such difficult moments his  teammates,  the coaching team, and, most importantly, the fans. Even the legendary Diego Maradona shared kind words with him.

Milik had to undergo a complicated surgery and put up a fight in order to return to the pitch. His arduous rehabilitation was unexpectedly quick, and he could return to the pitch after only 142 days. The Napoli striker got a chance from Maurizio Sarri at the end of February 2017 in the Serie A match against Chievo Verona. The match ended with the Neapolitans' victory 3:1.

We could expect the ilik's return to the Polish National Team. The coach Adam Nawałka appointed the player to participate in the March training camp and in the match against Montene gro. The White-and-Reds won a very important victory, but Milik watched the entire match from the substitutes bench in Podgorica. An extremely im portant moment for him came in June 2017 in Warsaw. He could play in the Polish National Team once again during the match against Romania when in the 72nd minute he substituted for Karol Linetty. For Milik, it was a comeback after eight months – that is how much time passed between the match against Danes and the match against the Romanians.

The Napoli striker was also called up to play in the September matches of the Polish National Team against Denmark and Kazakhstan. We all would like to forget about the first match because the Poles were defeated in Copenhagen. The White-and-Reds redeemed themselves a few days later in Warsaw, when they defeated Kazakhstan, and one of the goals was scored by Milik, who used the Makuszewski's pass. The 24-year-old striker was waiting... over one year for that moment. Earlier he became one of the scorers during the 2016 UEFA European Championship, when he defeated the goalkeeper of the national team of Northern Ireland.

After the Milik's return to the club, the biggest nightmare happened again. At the end of September, he appeared on the pitch in the 70th minute of the match against SPAL 2013 as a substitute for Piotr Zieliński. Unfortunately, he didn't finish the match. Before the end of the regular time of the match, the Pole took a false step when trying to fight for the ball and had to leave the playing field. Diagnosis – torn anterior cruciate ligament, this time in the right knee.

Milik once again was taken to Villa Stuart hospital in Rome and he was taken care of by an outstanding specialist – Professor Pier Paolo Mariani. The expert said that the surgery was more complicated than before, but everything went well. Milik started the rehabilitation on the following day. 'Now we all keep our fingers crossed for Arek and wait for him to come back to the pitch. We hope that he will have enough time to get used to playing again before the World Cup in Russia in which we hope we will participate together – said then the Polish National Team doctor Jacek Jaroszewski.

The supporters of White-and-Reds had to wait five months to see Milik play. 'The Polish representative was physically ready much earlier, but he was not prepared on the mental level' said the head of SSC Napoli doctors, Alfonso De Nicola. 'In case of this type of injury, it is not enough that you are cured. You also have to be mentally ready and have the right attitude. After the first knee injury Milik quickly got back in the game, but after his second injury, people started to say that it was caused by the too early return. As a doctor, I can assure you that this is not true – added De Nicola.

The coach of Napoli was in no hurry about the Milik's return to the pitch and decided that he must say when he would feel ready. At the beginning of March, Milik played fifteen minutes during the match against AS Roma at the Saint Paul Stadium. Now we are waiting to see him on the pitch again and, above all, for his goals. The World Cup in Russia is approaching rapidly.

Jacek Janczewski