Nice: Youcef Atal, one injury too many?

Many players have seen their careers cut short by injuries, or have been unable to realise their full potential because of them. Youcef Atal appears to be heading down the same path. The Algeria international picked up his 5th injury of the season on Saturday 27 May, during Nice's win against Montpellier (2-3). Is this one injury too many? Either way, his case is starting to cause concern.

“What I feared has happened, so I'm sad. There's the muscular side, of course, but there's the emotional toll too. Youcef came back last week with an encouraging game. He was sharp, he had a good week. Unfortunately we were forced to bring him on earlier,” said the Nice coach, Didier Digard, after the game, as relayed by DZfoot. Knee, shoulder, adductors, ankle… Atal has suffered 22 injuries since 2018, according to Footmercato.

Read more on the same subject: Atal still not out of the tunnel

Of those, 12 are muscular. That has considerably slowed his progress. Since arriving on the Côte d'Azur in July 2018, the Algeria international has not been able to string together the same number of games as in his first season (30) or reproduce the same level of performance. One of the revelations of that 2018/2019 season in Ligue 1, he has struggled to build on his rise because of injuries. He played only 14 games in 2020 in all competitions, 22 in 2021 and 18 in 2022. This season, the Fennec has 23 appearances in all competitions, including 12 starts. That is not enough for a player who was impressive at the 2019 AFCON, won by Algeria.

“Fast, fragile muscle fibres…”

Known for his pace and explosiveness, Youcef Atal is said to be a victim of his own qualities, but also of a trauma. With injuries piling up, players very often fear relapses. “It's delicate. When he came on (against Sheriff Tiraspol on 9 March, editor's note) he felt discomfort. When we looked deeper with tests, we saw a lesion. We tried a lot of things... We never took risks. We want to give him the means to be able to string games together and we're going to see if other people have solutions for him. We want him to feel mentally at ease. We don't want this to happen to him again. It's very hard for him,” Didier Digard said in March. On Monday 29 May, L’Equipe revealed the Nice club's assessment of the Algerian's case.

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“ Atal has fast, fragile muscle fibres and a history (muscular scarring) that makes relapses more likely. His case is not straightforward. But it is far from hopeless. He would only need to string together a few months without a setback to stabilise his muscular condition. And rediscover a level of physical output worthy of his talent and his pace,” the French daily reported. While he waits to recover fully from his injuries, the Algeria international is putting Djamel Belmadi in a difficult position. The Algeria national team coach still cannot find his replacement.

Already a starter at right-back during the 2019 triumph, he was unable to finish the tournament because of an injury. Even though he is a good option when fit, he remains unreliable. At 27, Youcef Atal still hopes to regain robust health and be able to help his club and his national team. “I came to the Aspetar clinic (a hospital specialising in orthopaedics and sports medicine in Doha) to find out the cause of my recurring injuries and not just to recover from them,” he said in April. He is still expected to miss the next get-together of the Fennecs.

⚽️ Blow for Nice and for the Algeria national team, Youcef Atal has been injured again this weekend! ⬇️ https://t.co/ltcIhjywsH

— Onze Mondial (@OnzeMondial) May 29, 2023