Healing Doctor

Chapter 624 A Hero's Twilight

"Dr. Lin, what's wrong?" Ji Xiang asked with a smile, looking at Lin Jiu.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, it seems I'm not invisible to you." Lin Jiu didn't answer Ji Xiang's question, but casually brought up another matter, "To be honest, there aren't many people like you, and I'm really not used to it."

"Oh? People always ignore you? That doesn't seem very reasonable."

"Who knows? He's probably just born with the physique of a skeleton soldier." Lin Jiu shrugged and smiled helplessly.

"But now those skeletons that only knew how to shoot arrows have grown into Titans, are they still like this?"

"Yes, I'm practically invisible to everyone." Lin Jiu smiled slightly, not denying Ji Xiang's description of me as "Titan." "Unlike you, Dr. Ji Xiang, who is the center of attention wherever you go."

Ji Xiang looked on with envy.

"What a wonderful talent."

Lin Jiu was taken aback. He scrutinized Ji Xiang carefully, looking him up and down for a long time.

Being prominent in front of others is even one of the legendary rewards for becoming a saint, so why would Ji Xiang think it would be better to become an inconspicuous nobody?

"If I had the chance, I'd love to experience what it's like to be invisible," Ji Xiang said.

"You must have been the center of attention since you were a child, no wonder."

Ji Xiang smiled and steered the conversation back on track, "If Wenban Yama wants to have surgery, you are very welcome to come up on stage."

Seeing that Ji Xiang remained unmoved, Lin Jiu suppressed his surprise and followed Ji Xiang's train of thought, "Dr. Ji Xiang, could you explain the surgery to me?"

"No problem," Ji Xiang smiled.

……

……

The Greenfield board and management team held an all-night meeting, which was filled with heated arguments.

But no matter how much they argued, the Celtics' management and board members reached a consensus—surgery must never be performed in China.

The specific surgical location and the medical team are the points of contention.

As for the Wenban Amazon in China, that was just a way to appease the sponsors.

……

……

Inside Manchester City's training facility.

Neymar is doing recovery training.

Six months ago, he ruptured his Achilles tendon. His recovery after surgery was not good, and his two legs are now visibly different thicknesses.

Walking is fine now, but running on the green field with one leg thicker than the other not only looks a bit strange, but all his movements have also lost the dashing style of his younger days.

Those two legs, of different thicknesses, tell a poignant story of a hero's twilight years.

Neymar knows he's nearing the end of his career, and he just wants to make up for his regrets and participate in the World Cup one more time. If he's lucky, those energetic youngsters can unite and lift the World Cup, then he'll have no regrets.

However, he was well aware that his chances of being selected for the national team roster were extremely low.

Damn injury.

"Neymar, take a break. You've done too much recovery training today," the fitness coach said to Neymar.

He hesitated to speak, but Neymar knew it was because he was in a hurry to recover after his first injury and had a lot of physical training, which caused his Achilles tendon in his other leg to rupture again.

"I want to participate in the World Cup."

The fitness coach patted Neymar on the shoulder but didn't try to persuade him. Although he didn't say anything, Neymar understood his meaning—the chances were close to zero.

The Brazilian national team boasts a stellar lineup, but their greatest enemy is the infighting among themselves, an adversary off the pitch, not on it.

Veteran stars like Neymar, who are almost "crippled," simply cannot be selected for the national team.

As Neymar gets closer to retirement, he envies younger players more, such as that yellow-skinned kid from the minnow team he faced in the Champions League a few days ago.

He was full of energy and seemed to have no sense of fatigue.

Neymar sighed, recalling his own youth. He put down the instruments and said, "Anthony, I want to have the surgery again."

"Kid, I don't recommend you do that." Antonio Pintus looked at Neymar with pity. "You know my biggest job is to keep you energetic on the field."

"I have seen many children hurt, please forgive my bluntness, but any encouragement now is a hidden dagger that will deeply hurt you in the near future."

Antonio Pintus did not directly refuse, but Neymar knew what he meant.

"I want to participate in the World Cup again. Anthony, you know my technique used to be a bit rough, but now if I can get two months of good health, I'll get everything."

Antonio Pintus watched Neymar quietly; he knew the athlete's unwavering determination.

Zidane, Benzema, and Ronaldo all had similar ideas when they were at Real Madrid.

This is a fantasy of top athletes in the twilight of their careers.

Who wouldn't want the experience of a 40-year-old and the stamina of a 20-year-old? Success comes from accepting all of this and making changes. Antonio Pintus doesn't think Neymar is right.

"Anthony, I want to have another surgery," Neymar insisted.

Please think about it carefully.

"I've thought it over. If the surgery fails again, I will leave here."

Antonio Pintus looked at Neymar, his eyes darting around, and after a few seconds he asked, "That yellow-skinned kid from the Champions League match a few days ago, do you remember him?"

"I remember." Neymar sighed. "It's hard to believe he would actually talk trash."

"Oh? You guys trash talk on the field?" Antonio Pintus was taken aback.

"He scored a goal, and I went up to him and whispered that his shoes were fake."

"What did he say?"

He said that if it were the great Galácticos of yesteryear, they would indeed have to be more serious. But for the current Real Madrid, wearing fake shoes is enough.

"..." Antonio Pintus paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

On the sports field, it's normal to trash talk and try to distract each other. I never expected that the seemingly green kid not only had great physique, but also a real master of trash talk.

Is wearing fake shoes enough to beat Real Madrid?

"Neymar, what I'm saying is that the kid had knee surgery less than three months ago."

"Oh. Oh? Oh!!" Neymar went from calm to confusion to bewilderment in just 2 seconds.

"It's hard to believe, but I've verified it; he did have surgery. He was supposed to join Borussia Dortmund's youth team, but he got injured during his final trial. And he was very lucky; his recovery was excellent, and then Dortmund's forward line suffered some terrible injuries, so the opportunity arose."

"Anthony, I don't care how far that damn Dortmund goes in the Champions League, did that yellow-skinned kid really have surgery?"

"Yes." Antonio Pintus looked calmly into Neymar's eyes.

(End of this chapter)