Igor Volley Novara have announced that Cristina Chirichella, the former Italy captain, will continue her rehabilitation from a serious knee injury while working with the club's squad. The Italian middle blocker suffered the injury to her left knee at the end of last season while at Conegliano, and Novara have now offered her the chance to complete her recovery within the group she helped turn into one of the most successful sides in Italian volleyball.
The club said the decision was a gesture towards an athlete who played a leading role in its history and triumphs, supporting her through a difficult moment and until her return to competitive action. Chirichella spent a decade in Novara and helped write some of the most important pages of the club's story before her sporting path and the club's diverged two years ago.
Enrico Marchioni, general director of Igor Gorgonzola Novara, explained the reasoning behind the announcement. Marchioni said Chirichella had always described Novara as home and that, although the two paths had separated two years ago, she had maintained excellent relationships with everyone at the club and a personal bond with the area. When the player asked to carry out her rehabilitation in Novara, the club accepted with pleasure, considering it a right and proper gesture towards someone who had helped write important chapters of the club's history for ten years.