Hellas Verona midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has described 2019 and 2020 as the toughest years of his life after battling with a serious illness and losing his sister.
The 29-year-old Ghana international spent the bulk of 2019 on the sidelines first with a knee injury before suffering a pulmonary embolism.
It threatened to put his season in jeopardy, but he made his comeback in January, featuring four times before Serie A was suspended due to the coronavirus.
While in self-isolation, Agyemang-Badu lost his sister in a shooting incident in his Ghanaian hometown of Berekum.
"2019 and 2020 have been the toughest years of my life," the Udinese loanee told the BBC.
"I nearly died, I got a lot of injuries - and then I lost my sister in a very painful way.
"It's very difficult for me and my family. The guy who shot my sister is on the run; they haven't got him yet, because things are going slowly because of this virus. It was a disaster.
"I live alone here in Verona. My girlfriend and my child are not here with me, and I'm in the middle of this pandemic.
"I need to thank my family and friends and our team and my agent.
"My coach has called me every day to check up on me - as well as the team manager and the president. They have all been wonderful. Without them it would have been a disaster.
"I have been in a room for 34 days. My sister has been killed painfully and I couldn't go to see what happened.
"But this is the job I have chosen. This is how the situation has been.
"I just need to abide with it it, take care of myself, be mentally tough and live with it right now - because right now I can't do anything."
There is still an uncertain date of when football can return with the coronavirus still threatening social life, but Agyemang-Badu insists that safety from the virus should be the top-most priority.
"I'm doing very well now - no injuries; life is more precious than football so right now we need to take care of ourselves," he continued.
"Be safe and pray that this thing goes fast, so we can all get back to doing what we love to do.
"The first priority is to make sure we are safe from this virus, and then after that you can have football at any time.
"Let's think about the dangerous virus now. Afterwards we can see when football can start."