Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny gave an update on his health after a scare when he left the pitch in tears during the Old Lady’s Europa League quarterfinal first leg tie against Sporting CP on Thursday.
The former Arsenal goalie, visibly distressed left the pitch at the end of the first half after signalling for a substitution. He had been touching his chest and alerted the medics he was struggling to breathe.
“I am fine, I was a little anxious, but we did all the tests and everything is fine,” Szczesny confirmed.
“I was scared, it had never happened to me before, I was struggling to breathe and it really worried me.”
The Polish custodian was replaced by Mattia Perin who made great saves in the dying minutes of the game. Szczesny who will undergo further tests today was left impressed by his teammate and fellow goalie, and made a light moment about the situation.
“The truth is, I saw Mattia in great shape in training, I felt tired and knew he would have a great double save at the 94th. Nah, they fired it straight at him! I congratulated him, he is also a guy with a heart of gold, we get along well. It’s a shame Carlo (Pinsoglio) didn’t come on, he would’ve had a hat-trick of great saves today. Mattia is better at speaking, I am just handsome.”
Juventus won the match 1-0 courtesy of Federico Gatti’s 73rd minute goal. The two teams will meet again on Thursday next week for a return leg in Turin, but first Juve face Sassuolo on Sunday in the Italian Serie A.
Juventus are currently placed 7th in the league with 44 points, that’s 30 adrift of Napoli the runaways league leaders.
