Football Players after an ACL Tear

Being a football player, one of the first thing I did after confirmation of the need for surgery was to look for professional football players who have undergone an ACL reconstruction. Surprisingly, this information wasn't easy to find. It took me a lot of googling to make a comprehensive list.

I knew that Michael Owen had an ACL tear. He ruptured his ACL in the 2006 world cup. Unfortunately for him, that was the start of a string of other injury problems. But it's worth noting that none of his other injuries concern the ACL.

I think one of the best examples one could look to is that of the Italian, the world cup winning former Juventus playmaker Alessandro Del Piero.

Alessandro Del Piero in action for Juventus

When asked recently, about how long he intends to play football, this is what he had to say: “How long do I want to play on for? Up to the age of 40. [My physique] changed on November 8, 1998 [Just a day before his 24th birthday, he suffered an ACL tear]. I was out for 12 months, four on crutches. It changed my career and made me a better player. Before it I was a tough guy, fast, technically good, still only on instinct. After I was able to tame it too and am more balanced."

We know that he had a good career after his return. He holds a host of records for Juventus, including that of the club's top scorer and the most appearances for Juventus. He's currently playing for Sydney FC.

Another illustrious Italian who makes this list is none other than Roberto Baggio.

Roberto Baggio

He tore tore his ACL late on in his career and made an astonishingly quick recovery in 76 days! Despite making a swift recovery, he was left out of the squad that went to the 2002 world cup, which saw Italy eliminated by South Korea in the pre-quarters.

Having seen the case of two second strikers, let's look at two of English Premier League's most prolific strikers. Indeed, the Premier League's top goal scorer himself had a ruptured ACL! Yes, Alan Shearer, in his early days at Blackburn Rovers snapped his right ACL in 1992.

Alan Shearer...his trademark calebration

Well, I don't think I have to add any more to this. The injury did no harm to the abilities of this classic English centre-forward as he went on to become the Premier League's top goal scorer with 283 goals in 559 appearances.

Now here's one striker most Arsenal fans will hate: Ruud van Nistelrooy! When it looked all set for van Nistelrooy to complete a move to Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2000, he ruptured his ACL in training and the move was axed. Later on in April 2001, he did make the move to Manchester United.

Ruud van Nistelrooy

He spent 5 seasons as a Red Devil, during which he amassed 150 goals in 220 appearances. With 38 goals, he is also the club's all-time European top goalscorer. Well, he did miss a penalty against Arsenal in our Invincible season! Late on in the game with the score at 0-0, he had the chance to win the game for United. His penalty struck the post, and the rest, it's all history! Arsenal finished the season unbeaten!

One of the integral members of the Invincible Arsenal squad was the graceful, delightful midfielder Robert Pires. Hardly has the Premier League seen a player with an exquisite touch and extraordinary vision such as Pires's. He was the embodiment of Arsenal's quality and free flowing football.

Robert Pires, recovering from an ACL reconstruction!

Pires arrived at Arsenal in 2000 and endured a difficult first season. However, in his very next season, Robert Pires became a very influential player. In a season which saw Arsenal win the double (the Premier League and F.A Cup), Pires was the top assist maker in the League and was voted FWA footballer of the year and Arsenal's player of the season. All this despite missing out the last two months with an ACL tear! This picture above sums up everything about Robert Pires that season! He made a comeback from his injury the following season and initially found it tough. But eventually, he returned to form and scored the lone goal in the FA Cup final against Southampton. Again in the next season, which was Arsenal's Invincible season, Pires went on to play a crucial part. He, along with Henry, scored a combined 57 goals, and some of those were sumptuous, like the winner against Liverpool at Anfield.

The current Arsenal pass master, Mikel Arteta, too had an ACL tear during his time at Everton.

Current Arsenal vice-captain, Mikel Arteta

The Arsenal vice-captain tore his ACL in Feb '09 and returned to action in Jan '10. He is currently one of Arsenal's and the Premier League's best and top passer.

Other notable players with an ACL reconstruction include Anderson, Phi Jagielka, Nemanja Vidic, Robbie Fowler, Joe Cole, Luis Garcia, Giuseppe Rossi...the list can go on! If you have a need to know who else from the Premier League is currently on the ACL treatment table, you can find it here, on the physioroom website.

We don't need evidence more than these to be convinced that an ACL tear cannot ruin one's quality. Although it takes is a lot of patience and work at the gym during the rehab period, it can only make one stronger. It has been just over a couple of months now, since I had the reconstruction surgery. I've made good progress in the gym so far. Everyday, as I go to work and return home, I pass by Madhavan Park, which is where I've played most of my football in the past two years, and I see people playing football. I know, that in a few months time, I'll be one among them, playing at a level higher than before.

The Unstable Knee

Before deciding to go for the surgery, I thought it would be best to take one more opinion at least. Going by the suggestion of my friend's father, I consulted Dr. Praveen Basanagoudar at the Sagar Hospital.

At the hospital, I was amused by the fact that his room number was 14, which is my shirt number! There was something more interesting on that floor. Another patient waiting for the doctor pointed out to his companion that the room which should have had the number 13 had number 12A instead! I guess that the occupant was a superstitious doctor and that was why he had the number 12A printed on a paper and pasted over the existing number plate, which probably had the number 13.

When it was my turn, the doctor had a look at the MRI and confirmed that the scans suggest a tear of the ACL and that I'd need a surgery to fix it. Then he performed a test on my knee, known as the anterior drawer test, which showed that my knee was definitely unstable. I must admit, it wasn't an easy thing to see my leg move forward, the way it did! He too said that I'd have to wait for two more weeks at least to get the surgery done. This was because the bony contusions had to heal, I had to get a better range of motion (ROM), i.e, I had to improve the bending of my leg and increase the strength of my hamstring. To achieve those, he directed me to the physiotherapy department, where I would be taught quad sets, straight leg raises and wall slide exercises. I had to perform many repetitions of those, twice a day.

The doctor then explained the ACL reconstruction procedure in brief. He told me that the torn ACL will be completely removed and a new ACL graft would be inserted and held in its place using screws. There were two ways of making a graft to replace the torn ACL: one was the patellar tendon graft, which was what the first doc suggested, and the second was the hamstring graft. He told me that he prefers the hamstring graft as the post-op pain is lesser in this case. With a patellar tendon graft, there would be some pain in the area from where the graft is harvested but that wasn't the case with a hamstring graft. I would have to be on rest for four weeks after the surgery, during which I'd have a lot of physiotherapy to do. I would have to wear a knee brace for that duration. The time required to get back to sports was a minimum of six months. He also told me that some people can live with an ACL tear if the muscles around the knee, like the quads, were bulky enough and could provide stability to the knee. And if I didn't intend to get back to active sports, I could most certainly avoid a surgery. However, me being still young, he suggested that I get the surgery done.

With another ortohpaedic confirming the need for a surgery, I now had to decide where to get it done. I was inclined towards Sagar hospital. Colleagues suggested that I get a third opinion in Hosmat, known for dealing with sport related injuries, and that I should go there even for the surgery. 

And so I went to Hosmat the following day. The doc there started with the examination of the MRI scans. Looking at the MRI, he said that the ligament wasn't torn and that I wouldn't need a surgery. I was surprised! Then he performed the anterior drawer test. Again, the leg had a huge lateral movement. That, he said, was a sign that the ligament was torn, although the MRI didn't seem to suggest that to him. So he advised me to take another MRI scan after two weeks to confirm the tear. However, he did add that it was likely that the ligament was torn; else my leg wouldn't have shown that amount of forward translation. He too suggested physiotherapy and said that would heal the bony contusions.

So everyone pointed towards a surgery. I had to get it done. It was now a question of where. I abandoned JOC as an option. I preferred Sagar hospital over Hosmat. Sagar hospital was close to my house too, unlike Hosmat. But I decided to postpone the actual decision for two weeks. All docs wanted to wait for a couple of weeks and the bony contusions had to heal. I decided to consult the latter two docs after that period and then decide on where to get the surgery done. 

It wasn't just the leg that had to get better in two weeks, I also had to prepare myself mentally. What I initially thought would take ten weeks to heal, it looked as though it could take potentially ten months. I had to be braced for it. I had to face it.

The Confirmation Of The Worst

I went back to the doc after five days, like he'd asked me to. He seemed satisfied with the progress and said that I ought to recover completely in a couple of weeks. And so I waited for a couple of weeks. I still could not bend my knee completely. I had some pain too. I thought that I should wait for another week, see if it gets any better, before consulting the doc again. 

On November 2nd, when my knee hadn't improved a lot, I went to see the doc. He told me that in order to make the best assessment, I had to get an MRI scan done. I got the scan done immediately and went back to the doc. He'd gone home for lunch and I had to wait for sometime. During that time, I decided to read the report myself. To me, a complete novice in the medical field, the report seemed to convey some bad news. I read of an "interstitial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament" and a "grade one injury to the medial meniscus" in the report. The doctor only confirmed my fears. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was indeed torn. He told me that it looks like we were heading for a surgery. That was the only way to fix it. He told me that the surgery was arthroscopic and it involved taking a part of the tendon from the patella and inserting it in the place of the torn ligament. And I had to wait for a couple of weeks at least, to get the surgery done. This was because I had damages to my bones as well (which he termed as bony contusions) and they had to heal. After the surgery, I'd have to use crutches for three weeks and then a knee-brace for another three. He reassured me by saying that he'd got it done 15 years ago and he was all fine now. I asked him, very apprehensively, if I would be able to play football again, after the six weeks. He told me that it's his job to get me to play again! That brought a smile to my face, thinking that I'd be able to play after ten weeks. Yeah ten weeks was too long, but I could at least play again.

As soon as I stepped out of the JOC, disappointment crept in. I wondered how that guy could kick so hard. I knew that the rupture of cruciate ligament was a long term injury. But I'd never thought that I would have one, one day. In my playing of FIFA, should any player suffer from this injury, I used to see that he was out for 24 weeks or so and I immediately would hit Alt+F4! Couldn't do that to life now, could I. I said to myself that I'd help myself by staying completely positive through this period. Just 4 weeks had elapsed since the injury and I was already missing football. I wouldn't be able to play for a long time to come. I had to be braced for a tough time ahead. The best preparation for that would be to stay positive and relaxed. With those thoughts, I smiled and made my way home.

The Injury

Oct 7th, 2012.

It was already 9:00 am, and three of the eight team members hadn't turned up yet. With our match against Wipro scheduled to start at 9:15 am, I felt that I had some rights to be fumed at them. We heard the announcement which said our match will start at 9:15 in ground 3. I asked the ref for some small time. We at least wanted our regular 'keeper to arrive. It wasn't long before he came, and I informed the ref that we were all set.

We, NXP Semiconductors, were in the quarter-finals of the Premier Cup. We were taking part in our first ever five-a-side corporate football tournament conducted by Bangalore Events, held in the ground opposite St. John's hospital. The previous day, we had played 2 group matches and lost both of them. The tournament format was such that every team would enter into a knockout. Having finished at the bottom of the group with no points, we entered the knockout which involved the other 3rd placed teams.

We had a tough opening fixture against EMC², who were fresh from a recent tournament victory. We had opened the game brightly, with me hitting the outside of the post. But they proved to be too good for us, as they ran out 4-0 winners. Our next game was against Texas Instruments. Again, our start was good and we went into the break leading 1-0, with the lone goal scored by me. But we found ourselves 2-1 down in the second half and despite our best efforts, we couldn't find an equalizer and that's the way the match ended.

We were disappointed with ourselves. We wanted to do much better in the next round and here was our opportunity, against Wipro. We'd seen them play a 0-0 draw the previous day. I was confident that our best performance against Wipro would knock them out. I was sure that we had it in us to beat them. We even revised our tactics a bit, with the major revision being my switch of position to start as a defender. This was one game which we had to win.

Being the skipper, I walked over to the ref and my Wipro counterpart for the toss to decide which team would wear the bibs. Both NXP and Wipro wore jerseys which were majorly red; so one of the teams had to wear bibs over their jersey. We won the toss, and Wipro had to wear the bibs. I was glad to have the number fourteen still on my back. With the bibs, one can never say which number he gets.

The match would kickoff soon. Two of our players hadn't arrived yet. But we had to start. We made a huddle and I picked the team that would start. There wasn't much time for a team talk. We were rushed, but I spoke a few words. We took our positions, and the ref blew his whistle. The match began!

We dominated right from the start. Tathagata and Renjith had some neat interplay and my movement was causing problems to Wipro. We pressed against them, pushed them all into their half. Prathap in defence and Subin in goal looked assured. These were encouraging signs. If we could keep this on, we would win. Surely.

A little over two minutes had elapsed. I was somewhere in the midfield, close to the left touchline. A dropping ball, which was close to me, was there to be won. I'd taken the ball in the air, probably had turned too. That was when I felt a very powerful kick on my right knee. Some reckless Wipro player had kicked me. I was in enormous pain. I fell down on the ground, clutching my knee, writhing, screaming in agony. I'd never experienced such physical pain before. I knew I was badly hurt. I don't recollect for how long I was screaming or for how long I stayed down on the ground. People around me must have steadied me; the ref sprayed some Relispray and helped me to gently bend my knee. I finally sat up, drank some water, and calmed myself. I knew that there wasn't the smallest of chances for me to play a part in the rest of the match. As I finally made my way off the ground, I heard a Wipro player say, "Dude, sorry." I gave the offender a nasty look, but gave him a thumbs-up, nonetheless. Arjun took my place on the field, and I sat down on my the ground, with my leg outstretched, cheering NXP on.

We continued to play well and had a couple of clear chances. Unfortunately, we could convert neither of them. Had I still been out there, would I have done differently? We'll never know. But Wipro too had their chances. A wasteful forward and determined 'keeping from Subin kept them from scoring. At half time, the deadlock wasn't yet broken. By then, our remaining two team members had arrived. So we had some options for substitutions. We still had a good chance of nicking this match. I urged them to focus and take the chances we get. Then I went to the ref, to ask him how the foul on me wasn't a red card offence. But he said that the offender was given a yellow card and sent out for a minute, although the latter wasn't mentioned in the rule book. I was satisfied with the punishment he'd handed out. But this was a mistake. I should've ensured that the player was shown a direct red for that vicious tackle. And I should've done that soon after the tackle. Anyway, it wasn't to be.

In the second half, neither team really threatened to score. But we continued to look quite solid. When about a fourth of the match was left, Wipro won a corner. They took the corner with just one man in the box. However, they didn't even need that man to open the scoring. An unfortunate deflection off of one of our own took the ball to its target: the back of the net. We trailed Wipro 1-0. As the game went on, we were tiring and as we pushed forward, we left gaps in the defence. Wipro made us pay for that by scoring two more goals. We lost this match as well and so we were out of the tournament. And all this, I just had to witness from the sidelines, unable to do anything about it.

As we all walked towards a shaded place to rest, I felt some discomfort in walking and bending my knee. I decided to see a doctor before heading home. As we were resting, we heard a voice through the loudspeakers asking for team NXP to collect their 2nd runners-up trophy. We collected the trophy, which I thought only brought insult to injury. Why would anyone want to parade a trophy which they won for losing all three of their matches! Some of my teammates were keen on staying back for the whole tournament. I decided to leave soon and had an intention of walking across the street to St. John's hospital to consult a doc. Vasisht offered to drive me till there and back home. So I went with him to the hospital.

As we reached the hospital, I'd developed some swelling in the right knee and I found it extremely difficult to walk. I was limping a lot and walked very slowly. We saw that the hospital was extremely crowded and so decided to go to Jayanagar Orthopaedic Centre (JOC), which was also close to my house. At the JOC, I was told that its closed on Sundays! Yeah, that day was a Sunday. But seeing the state of my swollen knee, the security guy admitted that the doctor was expected to come in later that day to perform a surgery, and that on Sundays he handled only emergency cases, not unlike mine. Calls were made to the doctor and he asked for an X-ray to be taken by the time he came. The guy who took the X-ray told me it could be a torn ligament, by the looks of it. Vasisht and I didn't think it possible for the ligament to be torn. Could I even walk, if the ligament was torn? Unlikely, we presumed. As it would take time for the doc to come, I thanked Vasisht for his help and told him I could make my way home from there.

I waited for over an hour for the doc to arrive. He saw the X-ray and twisted my leg, as he pleased. I felt a terrific amount of pain! He said that it looks like the collateral ligaments were strained and that none of the ligaments was torn. If indeed any of the ligaments was torn, he said that the leg would've swollen more than it had. He told me that there was also internal bleeding and prescribed a tablet, which was to reduce the swelling. He said a crepe bandage around my knee should help reduce the swelling soon, and that I should use an ice-pack around my knee, twice a day. He asked me to see him again after five days. When I asked him for how long I could be out of action, he said that I should recover in 4 or 5 weeks. The attendant then tied a huge crepe bandage, which extended from my thigh to the calf. Still limping, I took an auto back home.

As the doc had prescribed, I used an ice-pack twice that day. Towards night, the pain in my knee had increased enormously. I found it difficult to put any of my weight on the right leg. I managed to walk around the house, but kept the walking to a minimum. I couldn't possibly go to work the next day. So I could get up late. With that in mind, I went to sleep, oblivious to the actual state of the ligaments of my right knee.