Juve, Zhegrova and physical recovery: how Spalletti healed him

Journalist

December 29 – 4.05pm – MILANO

Ever since he was a child he enjoyed dribbling past his classmates in the street. His was almost an obsession, so much so that he was later defined as the Messi of Kosovo, just to enhance the quality of his plays and his tendency as an inveterate dribbler. Edon Zhegrova is now “Mister Zeppetta”, at least that’s how Luciano Spalletti defined him: he seems to have liked it, thanking his coach. Who in the squad inherited from Juve found him like a lost object in the locker room and in a short time transformed him into a lethal weapon, despite having to manage him from a physical point of view.

Juventus management

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Zhegrova suffers from pubalgia, so much so that he stopped for a long time before his arrival in Turin. A problem that the class of 1999 still has to manage, risking injury when he tries to raise the engine speed too much. On the last occasion, Spalletti was also surprised by the player’s performance, which served as the air to snatch a match that Pisa was managing to bring to their side: the attacker changed gear against Juve and held out for 35 minutes at a high level, adding precious unpredictability. He was the best on the pitch.

program zhegrova

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Signed at the end of the transfer market in the summer, Zhegrova had to face a difficult initial transition period at Juve. Partly due to the previous long stop and partly due to the loads to be calibrated, Tudor was able to rely on it less than expected: just 36 minutes in 3 appearances, before the 173 played in the 8 occasions that were granted to him in the 12 matches under Spalletti’s management. Question of trust? Not only that. The player has done specific work to increase his playing time since mid-October, thanks to a program shared by different areas that work to support the technical staff.

progress žegrova

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In the first months in Turin, Edon concentrated 70% of his daily activity on physiotherapy work and for the remaining 30% he made himself available to the performance area: the trend was reversed in the last few weeks as planned, despite having continued to support strength work with the aim of strengthening especially the lower part of the abdominals and the buttocks, so as to secure those parts at risk for a fast and explosive player like him. The player’s physical condition is now considered at 75%: in short, the best is yet to come.

zhegrova positivo

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The positive opinion on the attacker came immediately from the psychological support. In addition to having shown a great desire to return to his levels, Zhegrova showed up in Turin showing the optimism necessary to face the long recovery period: the player underwent the workload with the right mentality, without suffering the necessary sacrifice. He is said to be optimistic by nature, but it is his perseverance in his work that has made the difference up to now in improving his condition. Now the goal is to get him to play up to 3 games a week.