Let me tell you the wild story of Santi Cazorla—a guy whose career went from “This guy’s amazing!” to “Wait, does he even have a functioning leg anymore?” and then right back to “Wow, he’s still amazing!” all in a few years. Strap in, because this tale has more twists than a Ronaldo step-over.

Here’s the thing: Santi Cazorla was it for Arsenal. The guy could do everything. He was the heartbeat of the midfield, the player who made you believe Arsenal could finally move past their post-Invincibles mediocrity. But in October 2016, during a routine Champions League match, Cazorla’s Achilles decided to turn against him. No big deal, right? Athletes get injuries all the time. Little did anyone know, that injury would spiral into a two-year nightmare that would put his entire football career in jeopardy.

The medical reports kept getting worse. What started as an ankle issue became a disaster—a persistent infection ate away at the Achilles, multiple surgeries followed, and doctors even considered amputating his leg. Yes, amputation. You read that right. His career wasn’t just at risk; his life outside of football was on the line. We hear “career-ending injury” thrown around in sports all the time, but for Cazorla, this was potentially life-altering.

And Arsenal? Well, they struggled without him. The midfield lost its balance. They brought in other players, and tried different formations, but that Cazorla magic—the vision, the passes, the ability to control the tempo—was gone. The absence of his playmaking turned Arsenal into the kind of team that couldn’t do much more than tread water.

After being injured for nearly two years and missing enough games to qualify for a couch potato medal, Santi showed up at Villarreal like, “Surprise! I’m back!” And man, was it emotional. Fans were crying. People were wondering if we’d been punk’d. But there he was, dribbling like nothing happened. It was like when you reboot your computer, and everything works just fine—except this time, we’re talking about human ankles.

His first game back was like a fairy tale… if fairy tales had Spanish midfielders. He even got a standing ovation when he stepped onto the pitch. The guy went from almost losing his foot to pulling off tricks that made you question if his feet were real.