Former France international Franck Ribéry retired from professional football in October 2022 at Italian club Salernitana. In a recent interview with L’Équipe, the Frenchman revealed that his 18-year career ended prematurely due to a knee injury infection which could have seen his leg amputated. Ribéry revealed that his knee “had no more cartilage” despite an initial operation going well with a metal plate being inserted. “Then I had a bad infection which had eaten away at me,” said the former Marseille, Fiorentina, and Bayern Munich attacker.Almost five months later, the plate had to be removed. “I took tablets for two months, the plate was removed but the infection had eaten away at me. It was so bad that I had holes in my leg. I had contracted Staphylococcus Aureus.” “I was in the emergency department in the hospital in Austria for twelve days. I was really scared. They could have cut off my leg,” finished Ribéry. The Frenchman had scored 176 goals and registered 211 assists in 784 matches during his career. He has also won 24 titles, including 10 Bundesligas and a Champions League. However, he enjoyed less success with Les Bleus, winning no titles with his international side, despite featuring in the World Cup final with France in 2006.GFFN | George Boxall
