Luca's injury turned out to be less serious than everyone feared and serious enough to make pretending it didn't matter impossible. The scan showed no major tear, which his mother announced in our family group chat with enough exclamation marks to suggest she'd personally repaired his knee. The physiotherapist was less enthusiastic. Luca needed rest, treatment and a gradual return to training. He would miss at least one game, possibly more depending on how his knee responded, and nobody was willing to promise when he'd be ready for full contact again. His father immediately started rearranging scout visits. Luca started pretending the rearranging didn't bother him. I knew better because I'd seen his face before he remembered to smile.
I went to his house on Sunday with my laptop, two cham
