"It will take at least two weeks to recover," the Aston Villa head physio sighed, examining the swollen joint.
"Your left ankle is already showing signs of minor deformity. It's genuinely hard to imagine how you managed to keep running on it."
He looked at Theodore with raw astonishment.
Theodore just shrugged, his expression stoic. "Once the adrenaline hit and I started running, I didn't feel much pain."
Sitting across the room with his own ankle wrapped in heavy ice, Jack Grealish gave him a weary thumbs-up.
"Theo, mate," he said with deep admiration, "you're a bloody warrior."
Meanwhile, at the post-match press conference, Dean Smith had just received the medical update.
His face instantly darkened with worry.
Theodore had clearly become Aston Villa's attacking core. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that almost every threatening attack ran through the teenager's boots.
Losing him for two weeks would deal a massive blow to their offensive momentum.
To make matters worse, Villa's schedule over the next fortnight was brutal.
Besides grueling Championship clashes against Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough, they also had the FA Cup quarterfinals looming.
Their opponent was Premier League side Brighton.
All three matches were going to be a heavy test for them.
Dean Smith didn't try to hide the injury from the press. He leaned into the microphone, his expression grim.
"According to the medical staff, Theo's left foot injury is quite severe. A conservative estimate suggests he will be out for at least two weeks. It's a heavy blow for us."
Smith's anger flared. "Although the injury was caused by a reckless tackle from David Davis, the real culprit today was the referee's cowardly officiating. I know saying this might get me suspended by the FA, but I don't care. I have to speak out. I expect the referees' association to thoroughly investigate the standard of officiating in this match."
After finishing his statement, Smith stood up and left the press room with cold composure.
...
Back in the locker room, after having his ankle heavily strapped, Theodore slowly made his way out into the empty players' tunnel. He suddenly remembered he had promised Sky Sports a post-match interview.
Although he could easily use his injury as an excuse to head straight for the team bus, he chose not to.
He knew the fans, including his parents watching from Norway, were waiting to hear from him.
He didn't want to leave them worrying.
The once chaotic tunnel was now quiet.
Most of the journalists had flocked to the press conference, leaving only Laura Woods and Gary Weaver standing by the Sky Sports cameras.
"Theo! How is it?" Laura hurried over as soon as she saw him limping, her eyes filled with genuine concern.
"Is the ankle bad?"
"Not great," Theodore replied with a tired sigh. "I might need to rest it for a couple of weeks."
Gary Weaver stepped up, offering a respectful nod. "Theo, Gary Weaver from Sky Sports. I was up in the gantry calling the game tonight. You played brilliantly. All five assists were top-class. You've got the whole country talking about you right now."
Facing the enthusiastic commentator, Theodore remained humble.
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
Seeing that Gary was about to chat tactics, Laura immediately intervened.
"Theo needs to get off that foot and get proper treatment. Let's not waste his time. We'll make this quick." She tapped her watch, signaling the camera crew to roll.
The Sky Sports live broadcast officially began.
"Welcome back, everyone. I'm Gary Weaver."
"And I'm Laura Woods."
"And I'm Theodore Bjorn."
Across social media, fans immediately flooded the live feeds with comments.
[Wow! Theo looks exhausted.]
[Look at the ice wrap on his left foot. Is it serious?]
[First time seeing him do a proper post-match interview. Legend!]
[Five assists on one leg. Built different.]
"Theo, we have three quick questions for you," Laura began. "First, do you still believe Aston Villa can push for the Championship title this season?"
Theodore nodded confidently. "Of course. Aston Villa has only one goal, and that's lifting the trophy. After winning this derby, we're fourth in the league and just five points behind Norwich. The chances of us winning it are still very high."
Gary then asked, "What about the FA Cup? You've already reached the quarter-finals. Do you think Villa can go all the way?"
Theodore fell silent for a moment, thinking it over.
"It will be incredibly difficult," he replied slowly, "but anything is possible in cup football."
"Alright, final question," Laura said softly. "This is the one every Villa fan watching is most concerned about right now. How is the ankle? Is it going to keep you out of the upcoming fixtures?"
Although Laura and Gary already knew the grim diagnosis, the fans watching at home did not.
Theodore didn't sugarcoat it, truthfully sharing the extent of the damage and his expected two-week recovery timeline.
While Theodore was giving his interview on television, Lars Lagerbäck, the Norwegian national team manager, received the medical report.
It hit the veteran coach like a punch to the gut!
Lagerbäck had just submitted the official roster for the upcoming Euro qualifiers, and Theodore's name was written in bold near the top.
Although the manager had the authority to pull him from the squad due to the injury, he ultimately chose to leave him on the list.
The reason was simple: Theodore had become far too important to Norway's tactical setup.
Even though the teenager had only played a single friendly, his performance had thoroughly won Lagerbäck over.
The manager was already quietly planning to build his midfield around the 17-year-old.
Besides, the crucial clash against Spain wasn't until the 24th, leaving exactly thirteen days.
If Theodore's recovery went well, there was a slim chance he might just be fit enough to step onto the pitch against La Roja.
...
On the live stream, the viewer count for Theodore's exclusive interview had skyrocketed past 50,000.
Although the broadcast lasted less than fifteen minutes, it gave football fans a much closer personal look at the teenager.
With the help of the production staff, Theodore officially launched his own Instagram account right after the interview wrapped.
In less than ten minutes, his follower count surged past 30.000.
His first post was a short clip of his medical treatment, showing the Aston Villa head physio carefully massaging and wrapping his swollen left ankle.
The video instantly racked up a massive number of likes, with fans flooding the comments with well-wishes.
[Get well soon! We will always support you!] (Likes: 8,213)
[Go Theo! Looking forward to your triumphant return!] (Likes: 7.534)
[Make sure you're fully recovered before playing again. You're only 17. Don't risk your career!] (Likes: 8,113)
[The first jersey I ever bought was your No. 33! Rest up, idol!] (Likes: 3,893)
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