“I almost lost the ability to walk,” the goalkeeper says in a chilling account

A little less than five months ago, fans at the Renzo Barbera Stadium for the match between Palermo and Cesena held their breath when a violent collision occurred between Jonathan Klinsmann and Filippo Ranocchia. The midfielder crashed—obviously unintentionally—into the goalkeeper, who

suffered a fractured cervical vertebra.
“At first, I thought I’d taken a bad hit, but I never imagined it was anything this serious,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “ “The truth is, I really risked never playing or walking again. By the end of the season, I should be back training with the team; next year, I see myself back on the field.”

“The hardest moment was in the hospital, with my dad and my girlfriend, when they realized how serious the situation was. It was hard to look at them. The best part after the surgery: I knew everything had gone well when I saw the relief in my parents’ eyes. Ranocchia? These things happen—he even came to the hospital to visit me.”

Jonathan Klinsmann will have to undergo another surgery: “In four months, I’ll have another surgery to remove the four screws in my neck, but Dr. Hemmer, who operated on me before, did a fantastic job. I’m not afraid of life, even though I’m aware there’s a new situation to face. I just really want to get back to playing for Cesena.”

After the injury, the soccer world rallied around Jonathan: Stuttgart fans dedicated a banner to him, as did the Cesena fans. During the match against Sampdoria on April 25, his teammates took the field wearing his jersey.