Chapter 1 After Being Taken to the Hospital

After Zhou Yi was carried onto the ambulance, the vehicle left through a special lane.

The game wasn't over yet, but now everyone's thoughts were no longer on the match.

Fans watching the game kept refreshing the internet, hoping to learn the latest news about Zhou Yi.

Commentator He Ping constantly mentioned Zhou Yi while commentating, praying for him and hoping he was okay.

The television broadcast replayed the moment Zhou Yi was hit by Inler, showing it from every camera angle.

Most crucially, the Borussia Dortmund players had lost their focus on the game.

With nearly twenty minutes of game time left, the Borussia Dortmund players' hearts had flown to the hospital.

Some Borussia Dortmund players were even frightened by Zhou Yi's unconscious state and were completely unable to concentrate on the game.

Being already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and now with their minds not on the game, the outcome was predictable.

In the end, Napoli scored another goal, defeating Borussia Dortmund 3-0 on their home turf.

Marcel Reif let out a long sigh at the end of the game.

If Zhou Yi hadn't been injured, Borussia Dortmund might have had a chance to compete with Napoli again. The connection between Zhou Yi and Aubameyang had already been established. If they continued playing like that, Aubameyang might have actually threatened Napoli's goal.

But with Zhou Yi's injury and departure, Borussia Dortmund was thrown into chaos. Morale plummeted, the team was unstable, and they lacked effective tactical options. In the end, they could only helplessly accept the result.

※※※

At the end of the match, despite the anxiety on his face, Klopp politely shook hands with Napoli's coach, Benítez. During the handshake, Benítez conveyed his concern and well wishes for Zhou Yi, and Klopp expressed his gratitude.

Then he hurriedly turned and left.

The Borussia Dortmund players also quickly left the field, no one lingering on the pitch.

Only the Napoli players celebrated their victory. But not all Napoli players were in the mood to celebrate. Inler immediately followed the Borussia Dortmund players back into the player tunnel, wanting to inquire about Zhou Yi's condition. He hoped Zhou Yi was okay. If anything happened to Zhou Yi, he would probably be consumed by deep guilt and self-blame for the rest of his life.

However, Inler couldn't get away. He was stopped by reporters at the entrance of the player tunnel.

"I really didn't do it on purpose, I'm very sorry, I'm very sorry, I didn't see Zhou Yi at all when I was challenging for the header... I hope he can pull through, I will pray to God for him..." Inler said with a mournful face in front of the camera. Although he had won the game, he couldn't be happy at all.

The number of Napoli players who remained on the field to celebrate wasn't actually large. After thanking the Napoli fans for their support, they also quickly left the field.

In the context of Zhou Yi's injury and unconsciousness, many people's thoughts were no longer on the game.

Shankly's words seemed more like the wishful thinking of a loyal football fan. In reality, football can never be more important than life and death.

When a player's life is threatened, football must be put aside.

At the post-match press conference, all the questions the reporters asked Klopp were related to Zhou Yi and not to the game itself.

Klopp said, "We have contacted the hospital, and Zhou Yi is still unconscious. However, the hospital said his vital signs are normal, and his life is not in danger..."

This sentence relieved the reporters, but then a Chinese reporter stood up and asked, "How long will he be unconscious?"

Klopp shook his head, "I don't know, I'm not a professional. I hope he wakes up in the next second, but I have no control over that."

"Is there a possibility of him becoming a vegetable?" As soon as a reporter asked this question, it immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone turned to look at him, including Klopp.

The reporter also realized that he seemed to have asked an inappropriate question, so he quickly waved his hand, "I was just talking nonsense, pretend I didn't ask..." Then he sat down somewhat awkwardly.

Klopp indeed did not answer this question.

He said goodbye in a hurry, as he had to go to the hospital.

Napoli's coach Benítez expressed his regret and sympathy for what Zhou Yi had experienced, but he also emphasized that Inler didn't do it on purpose, it was just an accident.

"I don't think Inler did it on purpose, and I didn't arrange any tactical fouls against any Borussia Dortmund players. This was just an accident on the football field. We are all sorry for this and don't want to see such accidents happen. I hope Zhou Yi can recover as soon as possible... Compared to a player's health, victory seems insignificant."

After the game, major news agencies also reported on Zhou Yi's unconsciousness during the game, which attracted worldwide attention.

As Zhou Yi, who had just become the European Player of the Year, his career had generally been smooth sailing, and he had never encountered any major setbacks.

This time, the injury and unconsciousness were very unexpected.

Many people thought it was a prank when they heard the news, but after finding out it was true, they were shocked speechless.

※※※

When Zhou Yi woke up, he looked at the completely unfamiliar surroundings and almost wondered, "Who am I? Where am I?"

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and a beautiful nurse walked in with a tray. Seeing Zhou Yi with his eyes wide open, looking around, she was stunned for a moment, then turned and ran out, her joyful shouts ringing outside the door, "He's awake!"

Immediately afterward, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps, and several people poured into the room at once.

Zhou Yi took a closer look and recognized Dr. Braun, the head of the club's medical team, Zorc, the director of the team's sports department, Watzke, the club's CEO, and two people he didn't recognize. One was the nurse who had just come in, and the other was wearing a white coat, was older, and looked like a doctor.

After these people rushed in, they went straight to the hospital bed and found Zhou Yi staring straight at them.

"Hi, Zhou Yi..." Zorc waved to him cautiously, and then he realized that Zhou Yi's gaze had regained focus.

"Mr. Zorc?" he asked.

Zorc breathed a sigh of relief: "It's me!"

Watzke leaned in front of him again, pointing to himself and saying: "Zhou Yi, can you still recognize who I am?"

"You are Mr. Watzke..." Zhou Yi was confused.

"Alright." Braun coughed, interrupting this somewhat childish behavior. "Zhou Yi, how do you feel now?"

Zhou Yi looked at them blankly: "Why am I here? Shouldn't I be... in the game?"

"That's a long story, don't you remember why you came here?" Dr. Braun asked, staring at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi squinted his eyes, frowned and recalled, then shook his head: "I don't know. I remember I was in the game..."

Dr. Braun looked back at the doctor in the white coat, who shrugged and said in English with an Italian accent: "Concussion, memory loss."

Zhou Yi looked at them blankly: "What exactly happened?"

"During the game, you were hit in the cervical spine by Inler when you were challenging for a header, and then you passed out," Dr. Braun explained.

Zhou Yi opened his mouth wide, looking at Dr. Braun with an incredible look. This sounded too fantastical, how could it happen to him?

"I have no memory at all..." Zhou Yi murmured after a long time. He really couldn't remember anything. Although he tried very hard to recall, it was strange, he didn't even remember jumping up to head the ball, let alone the things Dr. Braun told him, what challenging for a header, what being knocked into his cervical spine by Inler...

He suddenly felt dizzy, feeling sick and wanting to vomit, so he quickly leaned back on the bed.

"What's wrong, Zhou Yi?" Zorc had been staring at Zhou Yi, and when he saw Zhou Yi's strange appearance, he quickly asked nervously.

"Dizzy..." Zhou Yi said weakly.

"One of the symptoms of a concussion, you should rest well, Zhou Yi," Dr. Braun comforted him.

"Let's go, the patient needs to rest," the doctor also said.

But Zhou Yi stopped them: "Wait, how did the game go?" Because of the dizziness, he could only ask with his eyes closed.

"We lost, 0:3." Zorc paused, but still told Zhou Yi the result.

"Ah..." Zhou Yi sighed with some regret, still losing the game.

"Rest well, Zhou Yi, don't think about the game," Watzke advised. "The game is over. There's no use thinking about it anymore, right?"

"Yeah." Zhou Yi reopened his eyes, the feeling of dizziness had lessened a lot.

※※※

The group of people walked out, and the door of the ward was closed again.

They walked forward, all the way to the end of the corridor, before stopping.

"How is the situation?" Watzke asked impatiently.

"Jurgen is on his way from the stadium, he should be here soon," Zorc said.

The doctor said: "The film is out, the good news is that there is no intracranial hematoma, and no other intracranial damage..."

Hearing this, Dr. Braun looked relieved. The worst thing was damage to the brain, because if there was that, the problem would be serious.

"Then he just now..." Zorc was still very worried.

"That's just a normal manifestation of a concussion," the doctor explained. "Short-term coma, recent event amnesia, and headache and dizziness are all symptoms. Just pay attention to rest. But it was still very dangerous before, after all, comas caused by concussions are very short, generally no more than half an hour. A coma like his lasting almost forty minutes is rare. If he hadn't woken up, the problem would have been troublesome..."

"Vegetative state?" Watzke blurted out a word.

The doctor didn't answer directly, but instead turned to another question: "He has soft tissue contusions in the cervical spine area, but fortunately there is no dislocation... However, there is also swelling and bleeding, with signs of inflammation..."

Hearing him say so much, Zorc just wanted to know how serious it was: "Is it serious?"

"Compared to intracranial damage, it's not serious," the doctor said patiently. "But his current physical condition is definitely not suitable for football, he needs to rest."

"How long of a rest?" Klopp's voice suddenly sounded behind them. Everyone looked back and saw a panting Klopp. There were still many fine beads of sweat on his forehead, but he didn't even bother to wipe them off, just staring straight at the doctor.

"I don't know, it depends on his recovery. If the recovery goes smoothly, he should be able to resume normal activities in a week or two. If the recovery doesn't go smoothly, maybe a month or more," the doctor said, looking at the anxious Borussia Dortmund coach, and added, "But I don't think it's a big problem, just rest and recuperate."

"Thank you, doctor." Klopp stepped forward, not shaking hands with the doctor, but giving him a hug directly. "Thank you, thank you..."

He kept repeating in his mouth, finally able to relax after being so nervous.

The doctor who was released smiled and said: "Actually, you should thank your team's two players. I heard from the paramedics on the scene that they helped fix Zhou Yi's tongue and mouth, which was very important. If it weren't for them, Zhou Yi might have had his throat blocked by his own tongue, causing hypoxia and suffocation. Even short-term hypoxia may cause irreversible damage to his brain tissue. Their timely handling bought time for our rescue. You have very excellent players."

"It's Mark and Reus, they are indeed very good," Klopp nodded.

Since Zhou Yi didn't have any major problems, everyone's mood also improved accordingly. Although Zhou Yi would inevitably miss several Borussia Dortmund games, this was an insignificant loss compared to a player's life and health.