In 2000, Brazilian footballer Ronaldo Nazario, known as Ronaldo, suffered a career-threatening knee injury whilst playing for Inter Milan at the age of 24.
His physiotherapist, Nilton Petroni, said it was the ‘worst football injury’ he had ever seen.
Over the next two years, Nilton worked with Ronaldo to rebuild his knee so that it could withstand the pressure of playing football again after surgery.
By 2002, Ronaldo was fit again and selected for Brazil’s World Cup squad. He scored eight goals in seven games as Brazil became world champions for a record fifth time.
Nilton has been speaking to Tim O’Callaghan about Ronaldo’s amazing recovery.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the Fifa computer game was created.
(Photo: Ronaldo and Nilton during a treatment session for his knee. Credit: Antonio Scorza/AFP)
