Chelsea’s £80k-a-week star reveals how medics saved his career and World Cup dream

Chelsea left-back Baba Rahman says he contemplated quitting football after his third ACL injury but is now looking forward to playing for Ghana at the World Cup.

The 28-year-old has had to endure the pain of three knee injuries and the toll of that means he’s out on his seventh loan spell as a Chelsea player.

Rahman says he put himself to bed five minutes after being told he needed anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery for the third time.

All that pain though has now been replaced with a dream of playing for his country at the World Cup.

He told the Evening Standard how his struggles have turned to dreams in Qatar, saying: “I went home after a scan that I thought was a minor injury.

“They called to say the ACL in the other knee has gone. I just went to sleep after five minutes of this call.”

Trailing off into his despair, he added: “The third one was something I couldn’t take. It was tough…

“You have to understand that having two ACLs and a meniscus operation shows how tough and mentally strong I am to get back to playing again.

“It came after the surgeon told my agent that I should be happy if I could even get back to playing again after the first one, because of the complications in the knee.

“I would like to thank Paco [Biosca], Thierry [Laurent], John [Fearn] and Stewart [Vaughan] at Chelsea. They were like angels to me.

“They gave me strength and always helped me to stay positive.

“At one point, I decided I had to quit football because of all the complications I had but they just gave me the confidence to keep going.

“I remember after the first ACL injury at the African Cup of Nations, I was 22 and now I am 28. I feel like it flashed by.

“Every operation is tough. I’ve not had the games that I dreamt of and it has gone too fast - and that’s very frustrating for me.”

Rahman is now ready to line up for Ghana in the World Cup, which starts at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, November 20.