Ghana and Hellas Verona midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang Badu has vowed to come back stronger after suffering blood clot illness.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism last month after he was rushed to the hospital on August 14.
The setback came as he was trying to relaunch his career with Hellas Verona after a frustrating two years with Udinese.
His last two years at Udinese saw him loaned out to Turkish club Bursaspor where he spent most of his time on the sidelines for almost the whole of last season.
Badu is recovering from the illness but says he was shocked after the initial diagnosis.
"I have never heard of such illness in my life so I was shaking after the explanation from doctors what my situation was," he told BBC Sport.
"It's a bit better now and I am responding to treatment and I'm on the verge of returning to gym work.
"What happened we just have to give thanks to God because it could have been worse."
Suffering such an illness ahead of the start of the Serie A campaign was a big blow for the Ghanaian who claims he will be back stronger.
"This diagnosis has made me psychologically very strong," he insisted.
"They say you never know how strong you are until you go through something that doesn't kill you. Mentally I have always been strong but this has made me stronger.
"I am just happy it's almost over and I will be able to get back to the gym and hopefully get to join the group in the few weeks time."