Stallion Football Club and Philippine Men’s National Football Team (Azkals) defender Simone Rota faces months out of action after injuring his knee. Rota announced the bad news on his Instagram account where he stated that he got the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and partial posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries.
There is still no word as of press time as to how Rota incurred the said injuries. Regardless, the injuries come at a bad time for Rota as he has established himself as one of the main players for Stallion and the Azkals. Rota will now have to go under the knife due to the injuries.
Perhaps the worst consequence of the injuries is that Rota gets ruled out of selection for the Azkals’ upcoming friendly games and the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup. This injury comes at a bad time too for the Azkals considering the likes of Rob Gier, Jerry Lucena and Juani Guirado have retired from international football.
Needless to say, the only way to go for Rota is upwards. Rota, though, stated that someone taught him to stay positive and focus on the objective which lay ahead. “Only God will give to me the right way for come back more strong. I believe in myself and I will do it!!” added Rota who started playing for the Azkals on March 1, 2014 against Malaysia and has been a mainstay ever since.
Rota was born in Paranaque City where he was eventually adopted by an Italian couple. The defender learned his trade in Italy while he grew up and returned to the Philippines where he has been based ever since. He has been capped twenty-one times already and scored two goals for the Philippines with both coming against Laos in 2014.
