Far too often, professional athletes are looked at as commodities rather than human beings. This is particularly true when they end up getting hurt.
When a player has a spell on the sidelines, observers can view it almost like a poor return on investment. This is especially the case when we know the salary of a player and what it cost monetarily to acquire them.
But athletes are not just investments to be tracked; they are humans.
Leo Campana's 2026 season is arguably the worst of his career. He hasn't played a game since March and still is recovering from a lower-body injury.
"With Leo [Campana], it's a very tricky situation," head coach Marko Mitrovic said on Thursday. "I hope that Leo will get some playing time in playoffs, but we still have to go week by week with Leo.”
It is a continuation of a trend that has existed throughout the season. Campana is on the path to recovery, and then a setback occurs and the process restarts. It is a cycle that can be mentally draining on a player.
With how long it has been, it can be easy to forget that Campana could have played at the World Cup. He could have achieved a childhood dream. At 26 years old, there is still a chance for Campana to appear in the 2030 tournament, but these chances are not guaranteed.
“But, just going purely from the player's perspective, [Campana] is missing it and he's not doing something that he loves most," Mitrovic said. "He’s not just missing the whole season with the team, but also missed the World Cup. There were amazing events this year for Leo that I feel really sorry that he just couldn't do what he loves to do most. When those things happen, I think we have to separate being professional from being human. We have to support each other, first from the human perspective. “Obviously, there were ups and downs with Leo and his enthusiasm, which is normal. But people like our medical department were great day after day, because they spent so much time with him and supporting him, in both recovering him from the injury, but also from the human perspective. I think the players have amazing support for Leo as well, and we are all rooting and hoping that we will have Leo at some point by the end of the season.”
Losing what you love is not an easy burden to bear. Luckily, Campana seemingly has had a good support system around to help him navigate the ups and downs that come when recovering from an injury.
We have seen so many players have breakout seasons under Mitrovic. There is a timeline where Campana has a similar uptick in form that we have seen from Dor Turgeman.
But we will never know what could have been. With a contract thru 2027 that includes a club option for 2028, time could be running out for the striker in New England.
Even once Campana recovers, there is a long path to feeling like himself again. There is the potential he might never ever feel or play the same again. After missing so much time, it can be easy to grow anxious every time you change direction or attempt to jump to claim a ball.
Hopefully – for Campana and Revolution fans – the striker can return to the field and put this difficult period of time behind him.
