The serious injury that led Nuno Mendes to the best form of his career

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·20 de janeiro de 2026

The serious injury that led Nuno Mendes to the best form of his career

Nuno Mendes has always been talented, but for a long time was held back by injuries. For over a year now, the 23-year-old left-back from Paris Saint-Germain and Portugal seems to have gained even more strength, but above all, consistency and resilience. This comes, notably, from a breakthrough following a long injury in 2023. It's Antonio Gaspar, the physiotherapist for the Portuguese national team with whom he regularly works, who tells the story in L’Equipe.

“He has become a fantastic professional.”

“After his right thigh surgery in September 2023 (four months without training), he came to do his rehabilitation with us in Lisbon until he resumed running,” explains the Portuguese. “I came to Paris every month until Euro 2024 to do preventive work. We still see each other regularly when he joins the national team, and I come to Paris every two or three months, always for a week. We do specific work on the muscles and joints to keep the body in condition. We do a lot of prevention, but not just on the thigh: on the whole body. Since this operation, he is more balanced, and it's possible to do more sustained work with him than before. He has also changed mentally. He is much more focused on his work, he has become a fantastic professional. This injury helped him. I think he is in the best physical shape of his career.”

It's always interesting to see how a player can be transformed by a difficult phase. This doesn't mean that Nuno Mendes wasn't professional before or that he was careless. But there is a step to be taken to establish oneself at the highest level over time, especially when there is already a tendency for injuries. This is the case for players as explosive as Nuno Mendes.

Vídeos OneFootball

He understood, through physical setbacks and even more with this necessary operation, that he had to do even more to achieve the career he aimed for. Today, the Portuguese seems well on his way. He ranks among the best, plays matches consecutively, and accumulates titles. We can only wish him to continue, for as long as possible at PSG of course, accepting that there can be an element of luck/unluck with injuries. But there is indeed work to minimize it as much as possible.

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