On November 13, Spanish newspaper Marca reported that young player Marc Cucalon was forced to quit football at the age of 19 due to a rare bacterial infection.
Cucalon is known as the “new Xabi Alonso” of La Fabrica. This midfielder is considered to have a modern football mindset, good skillset and has high expectations from U19 coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
However, the incident occurred on September 6, 2022, Cucalon suffered a torn ligament and had to undergo surgery. During the treatment, he was discovered to have a strange bacteria that had entered the wound on his left knee, causing complications and infection.
This is a rare type of bacteria that often invades the cartilage of joints, causing serious infections and affecting the mobility of the knee joints. As a result, players cannot recover from injuries and compete at high intensity.
Although a ruptured ACL ligament only takes 6-9 months to recover, the persistent infection forced the La Fabrica star to say goodbye to the pitch. After listening to the advice of doctors, family and friends, the 19-year-old midfielder made the decision to retire from his career.
“I arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2016 as a child full of dreams and happiness. But life changed on September 6, 2022, when I suffered a serious injury. After many complications, the injury forced me to make the difficult decision to say goodbye to football,” Marc Cucalon shared on Instagram.
More than two years after being injured in the match between Celtic and Real Madrid in the 2022 UEFA Youth League, Marc Cucalon was forced to say goodbye to his football career after 796 days of treatment.
