To Cao Baming, however, all of this was irrelevant.
That night, Cao Baming underwent surgery as planned by the hospital's expert team and was then taken directly to a special room.
He knew at a glance that this was where the equipment was located.
It was still a bed, but what was different was a very high-end white instrument fixed beside it. After Cao Baming sat down, he used remote control to aim it at the injury.
This was the device that, combined with surgery and a special hormone medication, could double the growth rate of muscles and bones!
Normal daily activities would not be significantly affected. For example, going to the toilet or wanting to go for a walk only required temporarily moving the machine aside.
The most important thing was that, when combined with the super recovery ability obtained by system points, the effect would be immeasurable!
For the next two days, teammates, the club's rehabilitation therapists, and loved ones like Wu Xue visited from time to time. The only person who stayed by his side was the little nurse named Niu Lu.
Like Wu Xue, she was an international student. The difference was that she was only there to experience life.
With her fair skin and waist-length hair, if she hadn't been wearing a white medical nurse uniform, she might have been mistaken for a model.
She fell in love with Cao Baming the moment she first saw him.
However, Cao Baming was used to this kind of attention. No matter where he went, there were always plenty of young fans like her.
She was even a year younger than him, with a tender and sweet voice that reminded him of a junior schoolmate.
On the team's side, after accepting the result of France's victory over Argentina, they faced an even greater challenge.
They had to accept that Cao Baming would definitely not be able to play with them on the final stage!
What did this mean? It meant that the team's most crucial core player was gone!
And they were about to face the Gallic Roosters, the French team! From the start of the World Cup until now, this was the first time they felt so powerless, even experiencing genuine fear from the bottom of their hearts!
Now they understood that it was Cao Baming who had always provided them with a sense of security!
The head coach had just announced this news to everyone in a public meeting, and chaos erupted.
The fans went crazy, some crying, some screaming!
Even a lot of negative comments started to surface...
"Cao Baming can't play, what are we even playing for?"
"Do you really think the Tang Guo team can beat France? They're too strong, there's no chance of winning!"
"Why don't we just surrender, or say the team has an epidemic or something, and avoid embarrassing ourselves on the field!"
Head coach Li Gang was furious at these disheartening words and quickly admonished them.
As for why the players were afraid, and what they were afraid of, it wasn't that difficult to understand.
This World Cup final was bound to be highly anticipated, and the Tang Guo team was also highly scrutinized by the outside world, with great expectations for them to be the dark horse that went all the way!
If they lost at this point, it would be too tragic!
In fact, even if they lost the match, reaching the final and getting the runner-up would already be a dream come true for the people of Tang Guo. What they truly feared was being completely humiliated by the opponent in this match!
Given the current attacking momentum of the French team, with such a vast disparity in strength, it was almost impossible for them to win. The score might even be 8-0 or 10-0!
If that happened, the runner-up title would be meaningless, and it would go down in the annals of football humiliation!
Just thinking about it was embarrassing!
Li Gang knew full well that the French team had a perfect offensive lineup with full-blown attacks in all three dimensions. In the front line, they had Henry, Benzema, and Giroud; on the left, Mbappé; on the right, Dembélé and Griezmann; and behind them, Zidane. Even setting up a defensive bus wouldn't be enough to stop these players.
This was an inevitable outcome, but losing morale before the match would be an even more serious problem!
"Pull yourselves together! Regardless of the outcome, we will fight with all our might!"
"At least score a few goals! Scoring in the World Cup final, isn't that your dream? Now is your chance!"
Although the Tang Guo team's morale had faltered, they still began training under Li Gang's supervision.
For the coaching staff, the pressure was the greatest.
Cao Baming was the indispensable super core of the entire Tang Guo team's system. It was a worthwhile trade to exchange three players for him on the field.
Now, with Cao Baming's injury, they couldn't even put together a decent tactical system.
Everyone was tense at this moment!
"Coach! Has the announcement about our players' injuries been released?"
"Cao Baming's injury hasn't been announced yet."
...
At this very moment, although there was no official news, the fans had witnessed Cao Baming's strange behavior on the field and were all concerned.
At this moment, the Tang Guo fans were still celebrating and discussing Cao Baming's recovery, but no one knew that he had already undergone surgery and would likely not be able to play in the next match, or even be present on the field!
Some small magazines or personal social media accounts had accidentally captured some blurry footage of Cao Baming going to the hospital, but it was mostly unclear, and their claims were not convincing.
Most people initially dismissed it and didn't believe it, resulting in very low viewership.
Everyone was waiting for the official announcement, but the authorities were also in a dilemma. They knew that once this news was released, it could not be retracted, and the reaction it would cause would be devastating!
It might even lead to widespread social unrest in Tang Guo.
However, the doctors had made it very clear about Cao Baming's condition. The fastest recovery would take three months, and they just hadn't accepted it yet.
The next evening, the official announcement was finally made.
"Tang Guo team's main player, Cao Baming, has undergone surgery for an ankle and lower leg injury and will miss the World Cup final."
These simple, understated words were first published on the internet.
The moment the publish button was clicked, everyone's heart skipped a beat.
As expected, within ten minutes, the news had spread like wildfire, and the internet exploded. This news was like a hydrogen bomb dropped in the center of a crowd, and the scale of the explosion was imaginable!