Juventus shot stopper Wojciech Szczesny has opened up about the heart scare which saw him exit the Old Lady’s UEFA Europa League tie on 13 April 2023.
It was the first leg of their quarter final fixture against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon which they won 2 – 1 on aggregate. Szczesny struggled for most of the game and a little while before the halftime break, the Poland international called to be substituted.
It was later revealed that he had heart palpitations for most of the game which became worse as it progressed, leading to him feeling like his heart was about to explode in his chest. Fans were oblivious to what happened to the 33-year-old on the pitch but he was rushed to the medic, where he was tested.
Following an electrocardiogram (ECG), the shot stopper was cleared of any signs of heart problems and allowed to participate in training and the next few games after being given a little rest.
Fans were still oblivious to what happened on that night but Szczesny has now come out to speak about it in detail. He mentioned his fear for his life at the time and how he felt a wave of panic wash over him during the game. Szczesny revealed all these during an interview with Canal Plus Polonia.
“It was scary. I really thought I was going to die,” Szczesny said. “After passing a ball to the defender, I felt like my heart was about to explode. During a corner kick, I told Arek [Arkadiusz Milik] I was hurt, but the Sporting players were already taking a corner kick.”
The former Arsenal man added: “The chest pain was horrible. To this day, we don’t know the reason. Probably back or spine problems.”
The former AS Roma man was able to make it back in time for their Serie A fixture and then the second leg of the tie, where he performed well to help his side progress to the semifinals of the Europa League.
Szczesny is currently in one of the best forms of his career and is a key reason for Juventus’ great showing this season, which saw them fight to regain a top four spot after an initial 15-point deduction, before they were docked another 10 points to end the season in seventh place.
Szczesny is currently on holiday and will be returning to Turin in the coming weeks to join the rest of the Juventus squad in pre-season preparations.
