In an interview with French media, Mateta discussed his experience with the AC Milan medical examination, stating that it revealed his knee injury was more serious than Crystal Palace had indicated.
The striker initially agreed to a €35 million transfer to Milan in the January transfer window, but the deal fell through after a failed medical, leaving him frustrated and disappointed. Looking back, however, he sees it as a pivotal turning point in his career and is grateful for the thorough examination conducted by Milan's medical staff.
“I was having a medical check-up when suddenly everything stopped,” Matta told Canal+ Foot in France. “My knee injury was actually more serious than I had been told. At that moment, as the doctor explained it to me, all sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind. Ultimately, I don’t regret it at all, because without that check-up, how much longer would I have had this knee problem? How much longer? Fortunately, I had that check-up, and it accurately identified the problem.”
Mateta tore his right knee meniscus while playing for Mainz in 2019, underwent surgery, and was sidelined for six months.
Milan's team doctors deemed the injury serious enough to require further surgery, while Crystal Palace assured them it could be resolved through treatment and load management. More notably, then-Crystal Palace manager Glasner stated that Mateta's failed medical at Milan was "not surprising."
“Of course, if he’s been playing with a swollen knee for two and a half months straight and needs to be managed, we and he both know he has a problem with his knee,” Glasner said.
Ultimately, Matteta did not undergo surgery, but instead took five weeks of complete rest and treatment to allow his knee to recover well enough to represent France in the World Cup.
