Chen Yu shifted into a more comfortable position on the sofa and began to read through Baggio’s medical records.
That afternoon, he’d had his assistant go online to collect media reports about Baggio, pulling out any articles related to his injuries. By organizing those and comparing them to the official medical records, he should be able to piece together Baggio’s complete injury history.
He had to admit, the guy’s case was truly tragic.
His very first major injury was severe enough to force any professional athlete into immediate retirement.
A second-degree tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, a torn lateral meniscus, and a comminuted fracture of the tibial cartilage—but that wasn’t all.
The vastus medialis tendon in Baggio’s right leg was severely torn. To preserve the muscle’s function, the doctors at the time chose to sever the tendon and forcibly reattach it to the tibia.
A procedure like that held no hope of proper healing. It was like propping up a collapsing house with a random pillar—a slapped-together, makeshift fix, and that was that.
It was no wonder reports said the surgery required 220 stitches. With the entire right knee practically destroyed, that many stitches seemed perfectly normal.
After that, it was just one injury after another, all centered on that right leg.
In ’86, the remainder of the medial meniscus in his right knee was injured twice.
A large portion of his right knee’s lateral meniscus had already been removed during his first major injury.
Those two injuries in ’86 resulted in most of his medial meniscus being removed as well.
In ’92, he broke a rib, which was comparatively minor.
Then came ’94. It was his right knee again—another torn ligament.
Less than a year later, the tendon in his right knee was injured once more.
The mountain of medical records was almost exclusively about his right knee.
And these were just the major injuries; minor ones like sprains were innumerable.
Chen Yu had yet to meet Baggio, but he could already imagine what a tragic state his right leg must be in.
It was a miracle he could still run on the field with injuries like these.
It was no wonder Ronaldo had said Baggio couldn’t even straighten his leg and that after driving home, he had to wait a long while before he could bend his leg to stand up.
"Chen, what are you reading?" Hardaway asked curiously.
Chen Yu said, "A soccer player. He might come here for treatment this Summer."
Hardaway grunted in acknowledgment, then asked if the injury was serious.
’How should I put this?’
Chen Yu thought for a moment. "Probably several times worse than yours. We’re talking about someone who could qualify for disability."
Hardaway shot him a sideways glance. ’Several times worse than me, and he can still play soccer?’
He didn’t ask who it was, figuring he probably wouldn’t know the name anyway. He just couldn’t help but remark, "I get the feeling that soccer has more frequent and more severe injuries than basketball."
"Soccer allows slide tackles. One bad tackle can end a player’s career."
"On a basketball court, forget about tackling—just swing an elbow at another player, and the refs will have your head."
"Then there’s the field itself. Ronaldo has complained to me more than once about how the pitches are full of holes. He said many teams’ home fields are intentionally kept in a messy state. You can get injured just by running on them if you’re not careful."
Without looking up, Chen Yu said, "It’s a wash. In basketball, someone can just slide a foot under you when you land, and that injury is just as bad. Comparing them is pointless. The best thing is to just not get injured at all."
Hardaway nodded in agreement. He was all too familiar with the fear of injury.
The topic was too heavy, so they didn’t dwell on it.
Hardaway changed the subject to Olajuwon. "Chen, has Hakeem mentioned anything to you about planning to leave the Rockets?"
Chen Yu looked up and countered, "Did he talk to you about it?"
Hardaway nodded. "What do you think about him coming to the Phoenix Suns? He’s probably still got another two years in him."
Hardaway was well aware of the Suns’ weakness in the paint.
"What, did he tell you he was thinking about it?"
Hardaway shook his head. "He didn’t say it outright, but I think he’s considering it. The reason is simple: you."
"Me?" Chen Yu was taken aback.
Hardaway nodded. "That’s right. Think about it—you’re our team doctor. At his age, maintaining his physical condition is the most important thing. If he doesn’t come to the Phoenix Suns, where else would he go?"
Chen Yu hadn’t actually considered that.
But on second thought, the Phoenix Suns, with him on staff, would be incredibly attractive to veterans plagued by injuries.
"It’s still early. We can talk about it later."
’The season isn’t even over yet.’
He turned his head and glanced at the TV.
The first quarter was over. The score was 28 to 25, with the Phoenix Suns up by 3.
’They’re playing pretty well.’
The two teams had played four times this season, and the Phoenix Suns had only won once—a narrow 2-point victory at that.
After all, the Phoenix Suns were playing without Hardaway.
Even Hardaway couldn’t help but get excited. He pointed confidently at the TV screen. "I have a feeling that if the team can keep this up, they might actually make it to the Western Conference Finals."
"The Western Conference Finals?"
’What are you thinking?’ Chen Yu thought to himself.
’Even if they get past the Kings, who would they face in the second round? Most likely the Lakers.’
’You’d have to find another Jordan to pair with Pippen for the Pioneers to have a shot at beating the Lakers.’
’The Lakers were strong enough to wipe the floor with the Phoenix Suns.’
Just as Hardaway finished his fantasy, both teams started clanking shots in the second quarter.
Rodney Rogers went 1 for 6 for the entire second quarter, enough to make anyone’s blood pressure spike.
Fortunately, the Kings weren’t doing much better. Peggy went 1 for 5, and Divac was also 1 for 5. Both teams were shooting poorly.
Still, the Kings managed a 19-to-10 quarter, taking a 6-point lead into the second half.
The excitement vanished from Hardaway’s face.
Even Chen Yu could see the Phoenix Suns’ problem.
They had no consistent scorer.
Relying on Marion alone wasn’t going to cut it, especially in a close game. They lacked a top-tier scorer who could guarantee points for the team.
Why were the Lakers so dominant? Because they had O’Neal.
In clutch moments, you could give the ball to O’Neal, and he would always find a way to score.
Fortunately, the Phoenix Suns’ performance picked up in the second half. They fought their way back and managed to hold the lead until the very end.
However, a 6-to-1 run by the Kings in the final two minutes nearly gave Hardaway a heart attack.
to 83. The Phoenix Suns eked out a 3-point victory, narrowly taking the first game.
"I’ll take it. It’s their home court, after all. Winning one game here is good enough," Hardaway said, his heart still pounding.
Chen Yu yawned, stood up, and woke Lexi. It was time to leave.
He had to perform surgery on Olajuwon tomorrow.
The next day, Chen Yu got up early once again to prepare for Olajuwon’s surgery.
After waking up, Chen Yu went through a few rounds of Five Animals Qigong.
Chen Yu didn’t know if the exercises could actually strengthen his body, but they were excellent for relieving fatigue and restoring his energy.
His agent, Dan Feigen, along with his wife, Dalia, and his eldest daughter, Abisola, had all come to the clinic to be with him during the surgery.
Chen Yu subconsciously found himself glancing at Dalia a couple of times.
He vaguely recalled seeing a news story that attributed Olajuwon’s sharp decline over the past two years not just to injuries, but also to his marrying a beautiful wife 15 years his junior and engaging in too many "extracurricular activities."
’That sort of thing is definitely hard on the back.’
This, too, would be a minimally invasive surgery.
In the world of professional sports, minimally invasive surgery wasn’t common.
In fact, many people disapproved of the procedure.
Take Hardaway, for example. Some media outlets claimed he had been ruined by minimally invasive surgery.
But Chen Yu didn’t see anything wrong with the procedure. It was far less traumatic to the body than open surgery.
The only problem was that many doctors didn’t fully understand it, assuming that since it was "minimally invasive," the recovery time could be shorter.
In Chen Yu’s opinion, the recovery period for both minimally invasive and open surgery should be the same.
As long as the patient was given adequate recovery time, there was nothing wrong with the procedure.
If he had to name a downside, it would be the high degree of difficulty and its reliance on specialized surgical instruments.
However, for Chen Yu, that wasn’t a problem at all.
Using a debriding drill in conjunction with an arthroscope, he began to shave down the cartilage in both of Olajuwon’s knees.
The process was quick. After all, with the Eye of All-Seeing, he could clearly see the thickness of the cartilage and make precise judgments.
Next, he drilled holes in the predetermined locations.
While he was at it, he also cleaned out some loose fragments from the joint capsule.
His joints were worn down, creating a large amount of bony debris. This was a major cause of his bursitis.
He scanned the area with the Eye of All-Seeing, confirmed everything was in order, and concluded the surgery.
In truth, he should have taken the opportunity to perform the spinal disc surgery at the same time.
After all, he had already confirmed that the treatment effect was effective for suturing the annulus fibrosus.
It would have saved Olajuwon from needing anesthesia a second time.
But he hadn’t managed to obtain a High-Level treatment effect yet, so he had to postpone it.
With Olajuwon’s surgery complete, another name was added to the clinic’s rehabilitation roster.
The demand for rehabilitation effects was now even greater.
The same went for surgical treatment effects.
Olajuwon’s spinal disc surgery and the surgery for the NASA astronaut both required these treatment effects.
Chen Yu couldn’t play favorites; the astronaut was just as important.
Thus, his days were filled with endless rehabilitation therapies and a jam-packed surgical schedule.
It was truly exhausting.
Chen Yu could only console himself with the money he was making.
After all, his daily income was enough to easily buy Lexi several of the leather sofas she wanted.
His only leisure activity each day was probably watching the game broadcasts after work.
In addition to the Phoenix Suns and the Magic, Chen Yu also kept an eye on the Heat’s games.
Chen Yu was genuinely worried that something would happen to Moning on the court.
He’d thought the Heat losing to the Hornets in the first game was a fluke, but it turned out they were just plain bad.
In the second game of the playoffs, the Heat lost again.
And just like the first game, the margin of defeat was identical: a crushing 26-point loss.
They were completely unable to put up a fight.
Moning was back, but his performance was terrible. He’d at least managed 14 points in the first game; in the second, he scraped together only 9.
The camera panned to a stone-faced Riley on the sidelines.
Chen Yu suddenly wondered, ’If Moning hadn’t returned, would the Heat have still lost so badly?’
’After all, he’d missed an entire season. A hasty return could disrupt the chemistry the players had built up.’
’This wasn’t the same group of veterans from before; the Heat’s starting lineup had been almost completely overhauled this season.’
Down 0-2, the Heat were already on the brink.
At this rate, they were on track to be swept 0-3.
Then there was the Magic.
In Game 2, the Magic lost again.
Chen Yu watched this game and felt they were simply outmatched; there was a clear gap in strength.
The silver lining was that after losing the first game by 11 points, they only lost the second by 5.
And then there was Hill. Chen Yu suspected Hardaway might have actually called him, because his desire to score was clearly much stronger. He dropped a team-high 28 points.
But it still wasn’t enough.
According to Hardaway, Hill needed to be dropping 30, even 40 points.
After all, they were up against a beast like Iverson.
It was only the second game, and he’d already dropped 45 points. It was unbelievable.
Finally, there were the Phoenix Suns.
In Game 2, the Phoenix Suns were brought crashing back to reality. The final score was 90 to 116. Just like the Heat, they were crushed by the Kings by 26 points.
The game ended a little after nine. Shortly after, Hardaway called. In a serious tone, he asked Chen Yu if he could come to the next home game to watch and support the team.

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