When he was substituted at half-time of Besiktas' 0-0 draw with Antalyaspor in February 2023, Dele Alli had no idea it would be over two years before he set foot on a pitch again. A muscle tear ended his loan spell in Istanbul, after which he checked himself into rehab to curtail a sleeping pill addiction. Once he had recovered mentally, Dele tried but failed to return to fitness before the end of his Everton contract, which expired in the summer of 2024, leaving him as a free agent only a handful of years after being widely considered one of the game's most valuable young players.
After months of speculation, Como were confirmed as his next club following a short trial period just after Christmas. There was still work to do to shake off the inevitable rust, but after several weeks of training and conditioning, he was ready to play.
And then off he came again. Ten minutes into his debut, Dele was shown a red card with Como chasing the game away at AC Milan, dismissed after a VAR check for a supposedly reckless challenge on his good friend, Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
His one-match suspension is now over and he is in line to return - again - when Como travel to rock-bottom Monza on Saturday. It can't go any worse than his last appearance, right?
