LONDON – Chelsea winger Charly Musonda (Jnr) has opened up on his injury heartbreak which  resulted in doctors telling him he only had a 20 per cent chance of ever playing football again.

Football’s forgotten wonderkid took to Instagram on Wednesday to emotionally reveal how he has struggled to play consecutive games in the last four years and how he still hasn’t played a game for the Blues in the last three.

And, his story has captured the attention of a number of fans who believed he was on his way to superstardom.

Interestingly, the former Zimbabwe captain, Moses Chunga, whose career was also cut short by injuries, has also been thrown into the debate.

‘’He must now consider another career path in football,’’ said Rino-Gattuso, a Mailonline reader in Milan, Italy.

‘’Very sorry young man but you have to play with the hand that you’re dealt. He could take up coaching or football admin(stration).

‘’Sad story, his dad’s career ended the same way. The great Charles Musonda (was) only matched on talent by Kalusha Bwlaya of Zambia and Moses Chunga from Zimbabwe.’’

And, Bigie of London, UK, agreed.

‘’Son of a former Zambian international midfielder, Charly Sr,’’ Bigie wrote. ‘’His father had similar issues with his knee.

‘’Very talented young man. I wish him all the best.’’

BlueBlood, in Luanda, Angola, remembers him during his time at Chelsea.

‘’This kid was meant to be a star,’’ BlueBlood wrote. ‘’(Antonio) Conte was trying to make him gain weight and increase his upper body strength instead of letting him fly.

‘’He was sent to Celtic after making a long range assist to (Victor) Moses that would make (Cesc) Fabregas proud.

‘’I was left scratching my head on that move. I wish him the best of luck.’’

At 16, Musonda was rated by scouts as the best youngster in the world which saw him snapped up by Chelsea in 2012.

However, since 2016 Musonda has been plagued by a cruciate ligament issue in his knee which has effectively robbed the winger of fulfilling his sky-high potential.

Now, with no return date in sight, the Belgian attacker has provided hope to others that are suffering career-ending injuries by telling them not to give up on making their comeback.

Musonda said: “It’s been four years since I played back-to-back professional games, three years since I last played for my club, two of those last four years, I’ve been injured with the post cruciate ligament of my knee.

“Nothing but heartbreak and heartache. Doctors told me going through surgery after being out for so long would be the end, an impossible mountain to climb, we’re the exact words.

“I miss football so much, to say the least, and I’m doing everything I can to play once again, to all the kids out there who have a dream and are injured or are going through monumental setbacks, never give up!

“I’ll keep climbing the insurmountable mountain everyday to run with the football once again, because there’s no better feeling than taking someone on and feeling alive.

“Until that day comes I’ll keep training and believing in the impossible comeback, because the greatest comebacks always seem like there is no way back, and that’s when we’ve got to dig deep and live to tell the story and not die in it.

“#ThisIsMyStory and how I keep training and staying ready, despite the odds, that one day I’ll be back.”

Having joined Chelsea from Anderlecht’ youth academy in 2012, Musonda went on to rise through the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge before being sent out on loan for the first time to Real Betis.

In 24 LaLiga appearances, Musonda managed to make three assists and score one goal across 1 500 minutes of football at the age of 20.

After returning to the Blues, he was sent back out on loan to Celtic in 2018, which was viewed as a major coup for the Scottish champions.

However, the youngster only managed to make a handful of appearances under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic Park before returning to west London.

It was hoped that he would be able to put his injury woes behind him and kick on at Vitesse in the Eredivisie but his chronic knee issue limited him to just four league appearances.

Once again, he is back at Chelsea and hasn’t made an appearance for the club in three years. It remains to be seen when, and if, he will be able to make his comeback. – Mailonline

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