Wojciech Szczesny has admitted that he feared for his life after suffering an undiagnosed heart scare during a match for Juventus last season.
The former Arsenal goalkeeper complained of heart palpitations just before the half-time break of April's Europa League quarter-final first leg at home to Sporting Lisbon. Szczesny, 33, feared that his heart was about to "explode" and had to be substituted off, with fans at the Allianz Stadium in Turin oblivious as to what the Poland international was going through.
After promptly completing an electrocardiogram (ECG), Szczesny's heart thankfully showed no irregularity and he was given the green light to continue playing in subsequent fixtures. But that doesn't take away the terrifying memory for the 33-year-old, who recently opened up on the yet-to-be-explained incident during an interview with Canal Plus Polonia.
"It was scary. I really thought I was going to die," Szczesny revealed. "After passing a ball to the defender, I felt like my heart was about to explode. During a corner kick, I told Arek [Arkadiusz Milik] I was hurt, but the Sporting players were already taking a corner kick." The Pole added: The chest pain was horrible. To this day, we don't know the reason. Probably back or spine problems."
Fortunately, Szczesny was able to return to training that same week and sat on the bench for a Serie A fixture four days later. The Juventus No.1 then started the second leg against Sporting away from home, helping his side reach the semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Massimiliano Allegri's side were then knocked out by Sevilla and due to a 10-point deduction in Serie A will be forced to compete in the Europa Conference League next term, Europe's third-rate competition. Still, Szczesny's stock has arguably never been higher, having enjoyed a superb campaign from a personal perspective.
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He was by far and away Poland's most influential player as they reached the World Cup last 16, saving two penalties during the group stage. Having kept an outstanding 14 clean sheets in 28 league games last season, his contract had been set to expire in 12 months' time but Juventus recently moved to activate a one-year extension clause which will keep him in Turin until at least June 2025.
Manchester United were linked with a move before Juve made their decision, as were Arsenal's bitter local rivals, Tottenham. Having initially departed North London on loan in 2015, Szczesny left Roma to join Juventus after two years and he's since gone on to make a total of 217 appearances in Turin, firstly starting out as deputy to the legendary Gianluigi Buffon.
