Former international player Marco Mancuso, captain of Lecce, in the Italian second division, revealed today, Wednesday, that he is determined to complete the season to help his team seeking to return to the top flight, despite having undergone surgery to remove cancerous tumors, refusing chemotherapy that would negatively affect him during the season.
Mancuso, 32, kept his illness a secret, before announcing it on his Instagram account on Wednesday.
Mancuso wrote a moving message, "I underwent an operation on March 26 to remove a cancerous tumor. I saw a world I never imagined I would know, I saw terror in the eyes of those I love."
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A post shared by Marco Mancosu (@markixeddu)
Mancuso was a prominent member of the team this season, scoring 8 goals in 28 league matches, leading the team to third place, two points behind the second-place qualification directly for the top flight, two rounds to the end.
"The doctors told me that my season is over, and I have to think about next year, but after two weeks I am back running in the stadium," he added.
"After one month, I had to return to Milan to find out if I needed chemotherapy, but I haven't gone yet because I wanted to do the thing I love most in the world; play football, and then we'll see at the end of the season."
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A post shared by Marco Mancosu (@markixeddu)
Mancuso is one of the veteran players in Italian football, as he represented the Italian teams in all stages of the age groups up to 21 years old, and played for many clubs, most notably Cagliari.