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Lassana Diarra was preparing for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The midfielder, who had spells with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Portsmouth in the Premier League, was coming off the back of a difficult first season with Real Madrid. That campaign, 2009-10, he had made 30 appearances in all competitions for Manuel Pellegrini’s side as they finished second in La Liga, three points behind Barcelona. They had also crashed out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage against Lyon.
Keen to put an underwhelming club campaign behind him, Diarra, aged 25, joined up with the France squad — which included Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Hugo Lloris, Nicolas Anelka, and Karim Benzema — in a pre-tournament training camp. Tignes was the destination, chosen for its high altitude that would mimic conditions in South Africa.
However, on May 22, 2010, his hopes of playing on the world stage were dashed.
“Further to his intestinal pain contracted on the glacier in Tignes, check-ups have detected evidence of an unpredictable illness which justifies rest for an indeterminate period,” a statement from the France Football Federation read.
Diarra’s diagnosis was later confirmed as sickle cell anaemia.
Diarra playing for Real Madrid in 2010 (Elisa Estrada/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) defines sickle cell disease — the most common being called sickle cell anaemia — as a group of inherited disorders that affect haemoglobin (the major protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells). In sickle cell disease, red blood cells are misshaped, typically crescent- or “sickle”-shaped due to a gene mutation that affects the haemoglobin molecule. When red blood cells sickle, they do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow to the rest of the body.