CAgliari, ITALY – FEBRUARY 21: Yael Trepi of Cagliari checks the pitch before the Serie A match between Cagliari Calcio and SS Lazio at Stadio Sant’Elia on February 21, 2026 in Cagliari, Italy. (Photo by Enrico Locci/Getty Images)
Cagliari may have lost 4-2 to Roma, but the most important success story of the night was Yael Trepi’s return to action two months after nearly dying in the pool.
The 20-year-old striker impressed for the Sardinians in pre-season and started in the Coppa Italia win over Arezzo on 14 August.
Three days after that, he and his friends were vacationing in a rented villa, swimming in the pool, not realizing how deep the pool was and faced trouble.
He was rushed to the hospital and made a full recovery after having fluid removed from his lungs while in intensive care.
Trepy’s recovery was completed by Cagliari’s comeback
That process was completed today when Trepi came off the bench in Cagliari’s 4-2 Serie A defeat to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The young striker almost marked it with a goal, immediately Pierluigi Gollini leapt into the box to save.
A product of Cagliari’s youth academy, Trepi will see this as a defining moment in a career that was cruelly cut short by an accident.