Ilicic: ‘I thought I would die’

By Football Italia staff

Atalanta midfielder Josip Ilicic admits he thought a bacterial infection would kill him - “what happened to Davide Astori was in my mind for days”.

The Slovenian was diagnosed with lymphadenitis earlier this season, and he was kept in hospital on a drip for several days.

“What happened to Davide Astori was in my mind for days,” Ilicic told Corriere dello Sport.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking about it, when I was ill this summer I really thought it could happen to me too. I was afraid.

“I thought: ‘If I don’t wake up tomorrow morning? If I never see my family again?’. There was a period where I was afraid of going to bed and falling asleep, just a few weeks and months ago.

“There are people with the same problem who ended up in a coma. With me the infection remained in my lymph nodes, with others it spread. If I think about it… let’s just say I looked at things other than football.

“I do my work on the pitch and then I come home to see my loved ones, and I always want them by my side. Life is short.

“I’m stronger mentally now, something has changed there. Before I got angry at silly things, now I live better.

“I stopped watching football and matches on TV, I only thought about my family and recovering.

“At one point I just hoped I could go back to walking like a normal person, never mind being a footballer.

“Then I overcame it all.”

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