Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 101 - 80: Free Clinic 3

Moratti got to his feet, dazed.

Just a moment ago, his bodyguards in the distance had almost rushed over.

He subconsciously moved his body and was amazed to find that the dull, aching pressure in his lower back, along with the sharp pain that felt like grinding gears whenever he turned, had suddenly vanished.

’Was it just because of that one press just now?’

’This is unbelievable!’

And then there was the bicycle.

Moratti always rode his bicycle to San Siro to watch matches, partly for sentimental reasons, but also because his private doctor had once told him he could get more exercise by cycling.

And Chen Yu had given him the exact same advice.

"You’re incredible," Moratti said, looking at Chen Yu again with a serious expression.

Chen Yu gave a formulaic smile and called out to J Kidd for the next person.

Moratti walked away, suspicious. For the first time, he began to doubt his own fame.

’In the world of soccer, who doesn’t know me?’

’Serie A, the Little World Cup!’

’I’m the chairman of Inter!’

But when he thought of Ronaldo, Moratti felt a bit better.

When Ronaldo went to the Wizards’ home court to watch a game, he was just another ordinary spectator. No one recognized him at all.

After meeting up with the badly shaken Sco, Moratti turned his head for another glance at Chen Yu, said nothing, and quickly departed.

Thanks to that single CRACK, his steps were much lighter.

Back in the car, Moratti took out his phone and called Blanchini.

"Don’t let Ronnie stay in Washington any longer. Have him come to Phoenix and get the surgery as soon as possible."

Moratti’s opening sentence completely stunned Blanchini.

Blanchini had been worried that Moratti going to Phoenix to personally vet Chen Yu would cause problems. After all, Chen Yu’s credentials seemed a bit lacking.

’He must have just arrived in Phoenix, right? How could his attitude have changed so drastically all of a sudden?’

"Sir, what happened?" Blanchini asked tentatively.

The corners of Moratti’s mouth turned up involuntarily. "It’s nothing. Chen is a good doctor. I’m confident entrusting Ronnie’s treatment to him."

With that, he hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, on Chen Yu’s side, there were too many people. The free clinic continued until almost eight o’clock that evening.

"I’m dead tired," Byron Howard sighed, stretching his shoulders.

Nelson, beside him, was also stretching. "You shouldn’t be the one complaining," he said. "Chen is the most exhausted. It’s insane. He actually saw over a hundred patients in one day."

And it wasn’t just diagnoses. He also performed treatments and procedures, with almost no rest in between.

That kind of patient volume would take an ordinary doctor three months to get through in a hospital.

Chen Yu was stretching his body as well.

His luck was just average.

He hadn’t managed to farm the Sports Medicine treatment effect he wanted.

Instead, he had farmed a Bronze Level treatment effect for sports pharmaceuticals.

But it was fine. He could just continue farming tomorrow. Besides, he had referred sixteen patients who needed surgery to the hospital.

’If I want a High Level treatment effect, I’ll have to perform surgery.’

But it couldn’t be rushed. Surgeries required advance preparation; you couldn’t just perform them on the spot.

The next day, Chen Yu received a call from Ronaldo.

Since he had already heard the news from reporters, Chen Yu wasn’t surprised at all.

"Come to the hospital first. Wait for my arrangements."

He had a pile of surgeries waiting for him, and Chen Yu wouldn’t operate on Ronaldo until he farmed a High Level treatment effect.

At the same time, Chen Yu also had to make a trip to Los Angeles.

He was truly swamped with things to do.

「After the three-day free clinic ended, Chen Yu hurried to Los Angeles.」

Chen Yu walked out of the Los Angeles International Airport, yawning.

The three-day clinic had utterly exhausted him, to the point where he wanted to use a treatment effect on himself to see if it could relieve the fatigue.

He had only managed to sleep for a little while on the plane.

It was a sunny day.

The climate in Los Angeles was quite similar to Phoenix, but the humidity in the air reminded Chen Yu of being back in Miami.

"Chen, thanks for making the trip."

Mitch Kupchek, who had just become the Lakers’ general manager this season, personally came to the airport to greet Chen Yu.

His attitude was very friendly.

Or rather, the entire Lakers organization was about to be absurdly friendly.

The owner, Jerry Buss, along with his younger son, Jim Buss, and his daughter, Jeanie Buss, hosted Chen Yu at a luxurious restaurant in Los Angeles.

Also in attendance were Kupchek’s predecessor, the "Godfather" of the Lakers, Jerry West, and the current head coach, Phil Jackson.

Before the meal was even over, Chen Yu had already guessed the reason.

It was simple. He was in charge of the player health management department. This time, whether or not O’Neal and Kobe could miss the All-Star Game was his call.

From the Lakers’ perspective, they definitely didn’t want O’Neal and Kobe to play in some All-Star Game while still injured and have it affect the team’s record.

The key was Chen Yu. As long as Chen Yu said the word to Stern, Kobe and O’Neal wouldn’t have to participate in the All-Star Game.

But Chen Yu was here on a mission from Stern. How could he possibly go along with their plan?

"Let’s talk after the examination tomorrow." By the end of the dinner, this was still Chen Yu’s only answer.

The Lakers didn’t have a game the next day, so Chen Yu arranged for O’Neal and Kobe to come to the hospital for an examination.

O’Neal arrived first.

Even though he worked in the NBA Alliance, a forest of giants, Chen Yu was still struck with a sense of awe upon truly seeing O’Neal.

It was truly like a humanoid black bear walking towards him—an upright one at that.

To think that a man of that size could also charge, run, and jump was simply mind-boggling.

"Chen."

O’Neal was naturally friendly, excitedly coming forward to give Chen Yu a hug.

Chen Yu was startled and quickly extended his hand first.

’With a physique like yours, a hug could be fatal.’

But his hand was truly massive, too; it felt like shaking a cattail fan.

O’Neal also asked about Hardaway’s situation.

Back then, he had been hung up on Hardaway’s massive contract and wanted a big one for himself. When he didn’t get it, he left for Los Angeles.

The two had some friction at the time, but with the passage of time, it had long since turned to dust in the wind.

And thinking about it now, he had already won a championship and was laden with honors, while Hardaway was still battling his injuries. He even felt a little bit of sympathy.

As they talked, O’Neal took off his shoes, revealing his shockingly large feet.

Twisted and deformed, several of his toes were crammed together like they were in a can. It was a scary sight.

But the feet of many professional basketball players were like this, especially centers. Their heavy weight and the terrifying force of their charges, accumulating day after day, would cause deformation no matter how good the shoe technology was. The feet just couldn’t withstand that kind of abuse.

He had arthritis in his left big toe, likely inflammation caused by the long-term friction and compression between his toe and his shoe.

But when Chen Yu had O’Neal move his foot to check if the range of motion in his left foot was limited, he suddenly noticed something.

"Lift your left foot again and flex it upward," Chen Yu instructed.

O’Neal did as he was told.

But Chen Yu frowned slightly.

As the saying goes, when a doctor’s brow furrows, the patient gets nervous.

However, the one who got nervous was the accompanying Kupchek. He asked hurriedly, "Chen, is there a problem?"

Chen Yu nodded. "His big toe has insufficient dorsiflexion."

"And so?" Kupchek’s face changed drastically.

Chen Yu pointed to the arch of O’Neal’s foot. "So it will affect his arch. In the long term, he could easily sprain his arch or develop other problems."

The root cause was partly the inflammation in his big toe, and partly that his toes had simply been ravaged too severely.