The Inter winger Denzel Dumfries entrusted Linkedin with a long message about his recovery journey from injury.

The Dutchman recounted with personal details the dynamics of the episode that forced him to stop and the feelings he experienced in the following weeks.

“Accepting what you don’t want to accept.

Inter-Lazio ended with a 2-0 victory, but for me it felt like a heavy defeat around the 40th minute. A Lazio player fell completely on my ankle. Immediately, an enormous pain, but as stubborn as I am, I tried to keep playing. In the end, I held on for about fifteen minutes, until I had to leave the field in the second half.

At first I thought: it will pass. Gather your courage so you can get back to work. But after a few weeks of trying to let it heal on its own, I realized it wasn’t right. It didn’t feel right and it didn’t go away on its own. As a result, surgery was inevitable.

Now four weeks have passed. With hard work, things are going really well and it seems I’ll be able to return sooner than expected. From the moment I knew I would have to undergo surgery, I realized it would be a big fight, especially mentally. Not physically, but mentally.

Accepting the process and taking the necessary time to recover properly have been my biggest challenges. Constantly working on the bigger picture, while at the same time learning to appreciate and recognize the small steps. The training sessions you normally take for granted, without stopping to think about the progress, have turned into pieces of a puzzle that had to fit together perfectly.

The final goal has always remained the same: to return sooner than people expect. Denzel remains Denzel, always looking for the unexpected. But just working hard, as I’ve always done, wasn’t enough this time. The real cure turned out to be the combination of rest, acceptance, and intense work.

You can’t go faster than nature, but you can learn to embrace it. This journey has taught me a lot and continues to teach me every day. Grateful for this growth, I’m back to work, because it’s not over yet: I hope to see you soon on the field.

Happy 2026 and good health to everyone”