(Reuters) – When Polish footballer Patryk Dziczek spent 562 days out of action with serious medical issues, and no club or doctor willing to take a chance on his return, he can’t have imagined ever making his debut for Poland.
“My path to get here was winding, due to health problems. Today I am the happiest man in the world,” Dziczek said after starting the 2-0 win over Faroe Islands on Thursday.
Dziczek collapsed during a Serie B game for Salernitana against Ascoli in February 2021, having suffered a similar situation just months earlier in training.
There were dramatic scenes when the player fell to the ground, with players from both sides reacting immediately and an ambulance was quickly on the scene.
He regained consciousness and was taken to hospital, with doctors saying it looked like myocarditis, inflammation and damage of the heart muscle. There were fears he may never play again, and for a long time it looked that way.
“It was a tough time. For the first six months, I couldn’t do anything. The most I could do was go for a walk. You could say I was living the life of a pensioner,” Dziczek said.
He was unable to get permission to return from a doctor for a long time, despite them giving him a clear bill of health. Finally, after a long frustrating period, Dziczek was given the all-clear.
The one club who decided to take a chance on the player was Piast Gliwice, his hometown club and where he had played before leaving for Italy, signing him in August 2022.
Dziczek returned to action as a late substitute in Piast Gliwice’s opening league game last season, and was recently named in the first squad of Poland’s new manager Michal Probierz for the Euro 2024 qualifiers with Faroe Islands and Moldova.
Dziczek, now 25, made the starting team to make his first senior appearance for his country and played for 82 minutes.
“I believed all the time that I would be able to get back to playing football. And I succeeded, so this faith turned out to be good for me,” he said.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
