For a footballer, there is no greater fear than injury. It lurks in every challenge, every physical duel, every conforntation, evert tackle. It is like the law that follows them on the pitch every match, the unspoken fear that threatens to end everything once and for all.
Even the greatest of the talents in football history was ruined by the injuries many times. A wrong step,an ugly tackle,or sheer misfortune could force a wonderkid into early retirement.
Such is the case for Oliver Grant.
The sound of sobbing can be heard from a hospital bed, beeping moniters played a constant rhythm, like a soundtrack to the saddness and chaos of the room. The shuffeling of papers and the tapping of leather based shoes echoed down the corridor, blending with the sobbing and crying of a young man.
"Doctor are you sure?"
Came a muffeled voice from the bed between the sobs and crying.
"Yes I am certain ,sadly you will not be able to step foot on the pitch again."
Answered a voice with a ting of saddness and regret in it.
For a moment ,the silence streched, a breathless pause.
"Doctor is their no other way? If their is any surgery or therpy that can help him recover?"
Asked a middle aged dressed sharply in a suit and leather shoes.
His voice was filled with sorrow as he asked that question.
"No, Mr Grant ,I am afraid there is no other way. His foot is nearly broken apart in two parts, his bone was nearly crushed. We had to insert eight screws in his foot just to keep it stable. I am afraid he will not be able to run properly again."
Hearing this the last ray of hope in the eyes of the middle aged man and the young boy on the hospital bed dimmed completely.
Saddness and grief can be felt in the atmosphere.
"I need to tell your mom about this. She is very panicked after hearing about your injury. She is directly rushing here from Milan, she cancelled all her schedule to come here."
Said the middle aged man looking toward the young boy on the hospital bed.
But the young boy do not said anything , he just continued crying.
After some time the middle-aged man said with affection in his voice " Oliver we know how much you love football and what this accident meant for you, but you need to know that this is not the end of your life. Me and your mom are always with you. We will get through this."
Then the middle-aged man hug him gently.
"Hmm" said the young boy from the bed after some time.
"Okay rest properly, I will come back after calling your mom."the middle-aged man step out of the room after saying this along with the doctors.
The news spread like wildfire through the hospital.
Soon it spread acroos the country.
Oliver Grant is retiring from football due to an injury.
Oliver Grant. Before the disastorous accident , people had many names for him.
'The Sport' dubbed him The Local Football Prodigy capturing him meteoric rise and undeniable talent that had the whole nation buzzing with excitment.
'The Marca' dubbed him as the greatest talent in the history of Castilla, recognaizing his promise and the bright future ahead of him.
'The Diario AS' added its own finesse , going full tabloid with headlines like 'THE SECOND COMING OF RAUL' likening his finishes to legendary captain of thr Real Madrid
'The Mundo Deportivo' took a more measured approach, referring to him as The Next Generation Talent for the Espania, believing that he could be the future backbone of Spain's national team.
Oliver Grant was born of a dual nationality. His father Henry Grant is a man of spanish origion who is a senior level manager in the 'GRUPO ACS'.
{Grupo ACS , a global leader in construction owned by none other than the 'Florentino Perez'}
His mother Mia Rossi is a woman of itallian origin who is a senior level manager at Banca Mediolanum.
In the 2007/2008 season , just after he made his debut for Catillla u-18 at the age of 16, Oliver helped them win the league.
By 17 both Spain and Italy are fighting for him.
For some unknown reason he chose to represr spain at U-18.
At the age of 19 he was called for the spanish U-21 team.
At the age of 19 he was the frontman for Castilla, he was supposed to gain promotion the year after and represent the first team together with the likes of cristiano,alonso,kaka.
His display on the pitch had captured the heart of both the fans and the pundits, and the excitment he generated throughout the league was felt across the nation specially after Spain victory at 2010 world cup.
Many believed that in the next 3-4 years he will replace torres and villa completely at the national team.
He had already secured his place-proof that, even at such a young age, he was destined for greatness. However no one could have anticipated the unexpected accident that occured in the match.
It was the 9th fixture of the season Real Madrid Castilla vs Rayo B .
With only moments left on the clock, the game was tense tied at 1-1. The crowd held its breadth as the ball found Dani Carvajal on the right side of the field. Carvajal without looking back sprinted toward the right side of the opponent half .
After finding some space hr goes for a cross in the penalty area.
His cross was met by a header from Morata, who managed to outjumped everyone.
But just as everone about to celebrate. Isma Gil the goalkeeper of Rayo B managed to put his fingers on the ball and the ball collided with the post . The ball bounced near the far post.
Oliver , ever the opportunist, saw his chance. His eyes looked on the ball and without hesitation he launched himself in the sliding tackel, aiming to shove it inti the goal before anyone else. He was running at a full speed, sliding from a distance to reach the ball, which had come to him in the nick of a time.
Seeing this the right-back of Rayo B Rober Correa also launched himself into a sliding tackel in the hopes of clearing the ball.
But Oliver was faster his foot met with the ball first and he poke it into the goal first.
The stadium erupted, the fans cheering in sheer joy as their team was moments away from securing a win.
But the celebration quickly turned into shock.
In his desprate attempt to score , Oliver did not see the sliding tackel of the defender. When he poke the ball in the goal, his right ankle was caught between the defender sliding tackel and the goalpost.
"Ahhhhhhhh"
Oliver screamed to the top of his lungs.
The impact reverberated through the stadium and for a moment everything seemed to freeze.
Realizing that something was wrong his teamates rushed toward his side.
The referee blew his whistle, signaling for the medics to come on the pitch, at this movement all eyes were on Oliver.
He lay there writhing in pain.
The stadium was filled with a tense silence as medical staff rushed onto the pitch. Fans who moments ago celebrated the goal, now held their breath, hoping the young man wasn't seriously injured.
Oliver recieved treatment for some time in Bernabeu pitch before being streched and taken to the hospital. It was there in the cold, red light of the emergency room, that the unthinkable happened.
Oliver Grant , the rising star of the spanish football career meets its end.
The doctors worked tirelessely, but despite their best efforts, his injuries too sever, too suden had taken him. The news spread like wildfire, and in a cruel twist of fate, the football world had lost its brightest hope in the blink of an eye.
"Why, Why did this happen to me?"
"What's my point of being here then?"
Oliver muttered to himself sitting on the hospital bed.
No one know anything about it but Oliver remembers his past life or his life before rebirth.
In that life he was an orphan, struggling for evey penny, every job.
He had no friends or family in that life.
The only shinning ray of light in his life at that time was football.
He was obsessed with it.
He wanted to be a football player but he did not get the chance for it.
He watched every football match at that time.
Laliga, Premier league, Seria A , Bundesliga, Legue 1 he watched every one of them.
When oliver was 9 years old he regained his memmories of his past life and he was schoked to find out that he was reborn in the past.
In this life he has a loving family which he yearned for in his last life and a chance to fullfill his dreams of becoming a footballer.
But all of this over now.
Just as he was thinking of this, the door of his room suddenly opened.