Filipe Gaidão on pre-Porto drama and Pinto da Costa: “Never left me” | OneFootball

Filipe Gaidão recalled the serious accident he suffered before joining FC Porto and highlighted the support he received from Pinto da Costa during one of the most difficult moments of his life.

The former roller hockey player revealed that he was left quadriplegic for some time after a fall into a swimming pool, at a stage when he was leaving Benfica to join the Porto club. The accident led to a hospital stay of about a month and even raised serious doubts about whether he would ever walk again, let alone play.

Gaidão recalled that, during that period, the then FC Porto president never stopped supporting him, placing the athlete’s personal recovery above sporting concerns. The former player stressed that the club gave him support and the conditions he needed to face his recovery, at a time when his medical situation was especially delicate.

Years later, the testimony of the former Portugal international once again brings to the forefront a defining episode in his career and his life. After the shock and a long rehabilitation process, Filipe Gaidão managed to return home and regain mobility, in a journey that remains an example of overcoming adversity in Portuguese roller hockey.

The former player’s story thus brings together a dramatic moment and an act of human support which, according to Gaidão himself, was decisive in the way he faced his recovery.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.