It was a year to remember for Lassina Traoré. The 21-year-old striker transferred from Ajax to Shakhtar Donetsk last summer, but was soon hit by a serious cruciate ligament injury after a flashy start. While Traoré was convalescing in Amsterdam with the permission of his club, war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. In the Netherlands, the Burkina Fasoër is working on the last steps in his recovery, while his former employer is competing against his current employer in a benefit match. “It is indicative of the warmth I experienced at Ajax.”
Shakhtar paid ten million euros for Traoré in July 2021, which investment seemed to pay off immediately. The young striker managed to find the net nine times in his first fourteen matches, until disaster struck. Traoré had to be replaced after eleven minutes in the Champions League match with Internazionale at the end of September after a duel with Denzel Dumfries. Diagnosis: a ruptured cruciate ligament, and months of rehabilitation.
Traoré soon received permission from Shakhtar to return to ‘the well-known’ Amsterdam. “When you come to a new foreign country as a young player and have to deal with such a setback, you are sad and you feel lonely. But with the help of Joep (Beerepoot, former kickboxing champion and private trainer, ed.) I have the button I was able to convert quickly. I fought with the physiotherapists and Joep in Amsterdam from early in the morning until the evening to come back strong.”
Due to his departure to the Netherlands, Traoré was not on Ukrainian territory when the war broke out. As a result, (now ex-) teammate David Neres was forced to flee. Yet Traoré does not necessarily have to leave Shakhtar. “Of course I have dreams and it has been clear since my arrival from Ajax that this must be an intermediate step to a top competition. I am certainly open to that. But I do not think it is the time to talk about it now, because the people at Shakhtar are now.” I have something else on their mind and I am fully focused on the last phase of my rehabilitation. I have to make sure I am ready for a top season with Shakhtar – in the league and Champions League – or for a new step.”
The meeting with Ajax on Tuesday evening may come a little too early for Traoré, but the former attack leader of the Amsterdam team wants to give his club nice words because of organizing the benefit match. “I think that’s fantastic and for me it is indicative of the warmth I experienced at Ajax. Football seems to be the most important thing on earth for a football player, but there is much more. It is great that Ajax has an eye for the people who play it at this time having such a hard time.”