Marco van Ginkel has revealed his career was almost over following a knee infection that forced him to miss nearly three years of action.
The Holland international went under the knife in 2018 in a bid to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
However, an infection caused serious complications and the Chelsea star had to go under the knife three times in six days to save his knee.
Three further operations followed, with the 28-year-old finally making his return last month in his native Holland where he is on loan with PSV Eindhoven - 983 days after his previous appearance.