IN PICTURES: “I was a footballer before the war”

Having been discharged from al-Shifa hospital, Mohammed returns to al-Yarmouk stadium in Gaza city where he played with Gaza’s Al-wefaq before Israel’s Operation Protective Edge. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed surveys the damage to his old neighbourhood Shuja’iyya, in Gaza City. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Physiotherapist Waleed Albatach of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society treats Mohammad in his grandfather’s home. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Muhammad's cousin, Mahmoud, shows a picture he took on his phone of the immediate aftermath of the strike July 11th. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed receiving treatment at the Artificial limbs and Polio center in Gaza city where painkillers are an integral part of this rehabilitation.The center has promised to provide Mohammed with an artificial leg. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed visits the remains of his destroyed house, showing the jersey of his former club, al-Daraj where he played for six years. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed prays at his mosque close to his destroyed house on Al-Nazzez street. Since moving with into his grandfather’s home, he visits his mosque infrequently. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed at home with his cousin Mahmoud Abu-Byd,25. Mohammad now spends most afternoons playing cards and socialising with friends and family. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed with his wife Suha, 22 in Mohammed’s grandfather's home where 22 relatives live together. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

Mohammed at Al-Yarmouk stadium in Gaza city where He played with Al-Daraj and Al-Wefaq clubs. (MEE/Marco Bottelli)

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