THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary put all his focus into the recovery process immediately after the game with FK Minsk. He avoided making any unnecessary movement and began using crutches to protect his leg from further harm. He was set on following his doctor's instructions to the letter.

In the first week of recovery, he routinely applied ice to his thigh — and kept his leg elevated most of the time to speed up the healing process. He took great caution while caring for his injured leg to avoid harming his thigh further. As a result, the pain had almost completely subsided by the third week.

He then started going through simple leg exercises to stretch and strengthen his quadriceps. Throughout the third week, he executed pain-free static contractions on a daily basis. His routine included four sets of ten repetitions of straight leg raises without weights. The exercises were aimed at enhancing the flexibility of his quadriceps muscle and helping him regain mobility in his right leg.

The rehabilitation was quite tedious, considering he could accomplish most of the exercises while seated or standing in one place. They bored him beyond measure, giving rise to the spirit of giving up on a few occasions. However, since he hoped to recover as quickly as possible, he persevered and went through the rehabilitation without complaint.

Under the supervision of the Rosenborg medics and the doctors from St. Olav's, he slowly started regaining mobility in his right leg. By the fourth week, he started training with weights to bolster his recovering muscles further. He even began swimming for an hour or two daily as a bonus.

He was regaining his fitness at a rate faster than the doctors had initially expected. However, they still advised him to avoid all intensive exercise until his sixth week of recovery elapsed.

In the seventh week of rehabilitation, he finally started going through intensive exercising routines targeted towards enhancing the fitness of professional footballers. Push-ups, jogging, agility drills, weights, and ball work — he started doing them all under strict supervision by the Rosenborg medics. He was intent on returning to the starting line-up before the end of the season. So, he practiced with more than a hundred percent effort during the eighth week of his rehabilitation.

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Monday, 28th October 2013.

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The late autumn sunlight streamed golden through the window in a well-mannered announcement of the just risen sun. It was just eight o'clock in the morning. However, Coach Johansen was already in his office at Lerkendal, reviewing Rosenborg's previous match statistics on his laptop. He would occasionally frown, sigh, or smile, depending on the match he was analyzing. But if he was observed from a close distance, it was easy to notice that he had smiled more times than his face had morphed into a frown that morning. That was because the coach was quite pleased with his team's performance over the previous two months.

Rosenborg had faced some tough fixtures in the last quarter of the Tippeligaen season after Zachary's injury. It had been a tough two months playing without Zachary, for sure.

The Rosenborg players had performed poorly in a few matches. They'd tied against opponents like Tromsø Idrettslag, FK Haugesund, and Hønefoss Ballklubb during September. They'd even suffered a loss to Molde in their second-leg game, giving rise to tension and dissatisfaction among the supporters.

During those times, Coach Johansen had been on tenterhooks, thinking his team would lose its position at the top of the table. However, the Rosenborg players had continued giving Coach Johansen pleasant surprises. They always bounced back after a poor result and put up incredible performances to win most games. They were resilient and overflowing with the Rosenborg team spirit.

Due to their efforts, Rosenborg was still ahead of the second-placed Strømsgodset on the Tippeligaen table by five points — with only two games to the end of the season. Rosenborg only needed one more point — which equated to one more draw in the remaining two matches — to be crowned as 2013 Norwegian Champions.

Coach Johansen could hardly contain his happiness. He was on the cusp of winning the Tippeligaen Trophy during his first season as manager. He couldn't have hoped for a better result after Zachary's unfortunate injury in August.

"Bzzt Bzzzt! Bzzt Bzzzt!"

His phone vibrated a short while later, breaking him out of his intense concentration. He picked it up leisurely from his office table and cast a single glance at the screen before placing it next to his ear. "Yes, hello, Dr. Pedersen," he spoke into his smartphone after clearing his voice. "How's your morning?"

"My morning is fine, coach," Dr. Eivind Pedersen, one of the Rosenborg medics, replied from the other end of the line. "I have called to deliver some good news."

"Oh," Coach Johansen said, his heart starting to race with anticipation.

"Zachary has recovered fully from his injury," Dr. Pedersen continued almost without a pause. "He has completed his rehabilitation and can participate in the team training starting this week."

"That's great," Coach Johansen said excitedly. "How's his fitness? Is he ready to play competitive games?"

"Yes, he is," Dr. Pedersen replied almost immediately. "From our tests, we can conclude that he has already regained full match-fitness. His thigh contusion has recovered without any problems. You can test his match condition yourself when he appears at Lerkendal for training."

"Thank you, doctor," Coach Johansen said, tone polite. "That's the best news I've received over the past few weeks. I'm glad Zachary can finally return to the squad."

"There's no need for any thanks since that's my job," Dr. Pedersen said from the other end of the line. "But you'll need to watch out for one issue after Zachary returns to intensive team training. As you know, a sports injury has both physical and psychological consequences for an athlete. The most common post-injury psychological response is an elevated level of fear of reinjury. So, Zachary may underperform in the first few weeks after recovery. But worry not. He is a tough guy and should overcome it in a short period of time."

"That's understandable," Coach Johansen replied. "I'll observe how he performs during training this week. If I notice any signs indicating that he has developed some phobia, I'll send him to a sports psychologist immediately."

"That's good," Dr. Pedersen said. "Let me say goodbye for now. I wish you all the best during the remaining matches of the season. We're all waiting for the Troll Kids to emerge as Norwegian champions once again this year."

"Thank you," Coach Johansen said, leaning back in his chair. "But you don't need to worry. We'll become champions. That's for sure since Zachary has returned to the squad."

"That's great," Dr. Pedersen said. "I'll start preparing the champagne since I now have your assurance. Let me say goodbye for now. I have to return to work."

"Goodbye, and thanks for the call."

Coach Johansen grinned as he placed the phone back on his office table. With Zachary back on the line-up, Rosenborg's chances of winning both the Tippeligaen Trophy and the Norwegian Cup had gone up a notch. It was like a higher power had cast blessings onto them – to ensure they would win the double. Coach Johansen's spirits were flying high on realizing Rosenborg was very close to winning the two most prestigious Norwegian Trophies.

"*Knock*Knock*Knock..."

The sound of someone knocking on his office door broke him out of his reverie once again. "Come in," he said almost immediately, leaning back in his chair.

The next moment, he saw the door open before the tall Zachary with an overgrown afro marched into his office. The boy prodigy was as imposing as ever. He was garbed in the official Rosenborg training kit and seemed ready for that day's morning training.

"Good morning, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, standing up and extending a hand. "Welcome back. We missed you on the team."

"Thank you, coach," Zachary replied, taking the hand. His tone was humble. "How have you been, coach?"

"I'm fine, Zachary," Coach Johansen said, settling back in his office chair. "Please, have a seat. How was your holiday? You got two months of rest, and I almost envy you for that." He added with a bit of humor.

Zachary sighed audibly, shaking his head on hearing the question. "The holiday was too boring and almost unbearable," he said. "Imagine sitting at home for two months and doing nothing productive. All I could do was watch TV and go through some light exercising routines. It was the worst possible hell for me."

"Sorry about that," Coach Johansen said, half-smiling. "But it's good you're back. You can now play to your heart's content throughout this upcoming month of November. However, are you ready for action?"

"Of course, I am," Zachary replied, tone confident. "I started going through more intensive exercise routines to regain my fitness two weeks ago. I feel confident, and I'm more than ready to participate in Rosenborg's upcoming match against Viking Stavanger next Sunday."

"That's good, then," Coach Johansen said with a smile. "Let's see how you perform during this week's training. But please make sure that you don't push yourself too hard. Take it slow until you feel comfortable with the ball once again. Are we together?"

"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, nodding. "I understand."

"Good," Coach Johansen said. "You can go ahead and join the rest of the team in the gym for the morning fitness session directed by Coach Rolf Aas. I'll then see you on the training ground in the afternoon for the team session."

"Till after lunch then, coach," Zachary replied, standing up and then heading towards the door.

Coach Johansen couldn't help but sigh as he watched him walk out of the office. At that moment, he couldn't help but envision how Rosenborg's season could have progressed if Zachary hadn't gotten injured.

'Maybe, Rosenborg would have won the three opening games in the Europa League group stages,' he mused, turning his gaze towards the outside scenery through the window. 'We shouldn't be in such a bind, hoping for a miracle to qualify for the next stage of the Europa League.'

After Zachary had gotten injured, the rest of the players had still managed to put up an incredible performance against FK Minsk in the second leg of the Europa League qualifiers third round. They'd managed to beat the team from Belarus 1:0 to cement their place in the Europa League group stages.

All the fans, players, and coaches were ecstatic since Rosenborg had managed to qualify for the main Europa League tournament. Morale had been very high as the players prepared for the second most prestigious international team competition in Europe. However, due to the shortage of creative world-class attacking players, the Troll Kids had ended up losing their three opening games in the group stages.

They kicked off their campaign with a 1:2 away loss to the Belgian team — Standard Liège. They then faced off against Red Bull Salzburg, a team from Austria, at Lerkendal and lost 1:0. After that, they were defeated by IF Elfsborg 1:0 in an away game played in Borås, Sweden. They were at the bottom of the table, having failed to secure even a single point in the group stages. At that moment, they were already trailing Red Bull Salzburg, the leaders of their group, by nine points — and were six points behind second-placed Standard Liège.

Coach Johansen had already considered giving up on the Europa League since Rosenborg's campaign was going miserably. He had thought about cutting his losses and focusing on the Tippeligaen and Norwegian Cup. He had had little to no hope of Rosenborg making up the six-point deficit in the remaining three games of the group stage to qualify for the next round.

However, since Zachary had regained fitness, Coach Johansen could finally see a ray of hope amidst the gloom. The youngster was a magician on the field. He was a winner and would do his best to avoid a loss as long as he was on the playing field. If he could overcome his post-injury phobia quickly, he would perhaps inspire Rosenborg to qualify for the next stage.

"Let's see how he performs in the next five days of training," Coach Johansen mumbled, sighing. "As long as he puts up an above-average performance, I'll give him time during the weekend game against Viking Stavanger. That should be enough to prepare him for the match against IF Elfsborg the following week."

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