johnson293
24-01-2005, 13:31
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1397059,00.html
Woodgate injury leads to career fear
Torn tendon is new blow as England defender plays waiting game at Madrid
Sid Lowe in Madrid
Monday January 24, 2005
The Guardian
Jonathan Woodgate's thigh injury is significantly more serious than originally diagnosed and directors at Real Madrid fear it could jeopardise the defender's career.
The England centre-back has suffered a ruptured tendon in his left thigh as well as a torn muscle and, though the player and Madrid's medical staff publicly remain cautiously optimistic that he will play this season, the club are refusing to place a date on his return to action.
Important question marks have been raised about the handling of the injury, both by Woodgate's former club Newcastle United and now Madrid, whose medical officers came under pressure from the club president Florentino Pérez to rush Woodgate back to fitness.
Woodgate, who has yet to play for Real since his £14m transfer in the summer, broke down during a training match against the reserves on October 7, six days before his expected debut in a specially arranged friendly against a Second Division side.
That friendly, which was never played, was arranged on the orders of Pérez, who had announced at Woodgate's presentation in August that he would be playing "within three weeks". On September 23 he insisted: "Woodgate's injury is now cleared up and he will be ready to play in 10 days' time."
Privately Madrid's medical staff, keen to pursue a slower rehabilitation, were less convinced; Woodgate's subsequent deterioration has vindicated their position.
Woodgate, who pulled up chasing a ball, was diagnosed as having suffered a recurrence of the tear in the left rectus femoris muscle, which forms part of the quadriceps and had kept him out since April 18, while still at Newcastle, for whom he made only 28 league appearances in 20 months.
But scans carried out since have revealed that Woodgate also tore the intra-muscle, or aponeurosis, tendon - an injury with a typical recovery time of closer to six months, rather than the prognosis of a 10-week lay-off, itself just the latest in a series of unmet deadlines.
Madrid's current official medical report nevertheless describes Woodgate's injury as a "muscle fibre tear" and the club have made no announcement about the tendon. Nor was the tendon mentioned in the official statement of the Cleveland Clinic in the United States to which the player was sent in October.
It could be that the tendon injury was simply considered a corollary of Woodgate's muscle tear. But while tendon tears can accompany the rupturing of thigh muscles, they do not always. And the rehabilitation is far slower, sometimes even impossible, not least because tendons, unlike muscles, are denied a nutritive blood flow and therefore have no natural capacity for regeneration.
Besides, Madrid appear to be seeking to save face in not revealing the full extent of the injury. There has been no denial as such but nor has there been any public attempt to clarify Woodgate's situation.
Indeed, staff at Madrid are extremely reluctant to discuss Woodgate's condition and significant pressure has been brought upon media outlets close to the club not to report on the defender's progress.
The tendon tear was discovered only after the recurrence of Woodgate's muscle injury in October; the rupture of muscle fibres created a gap through which the tendon, usually virtually invisible on scans, was finally revealed. Although it was a fresh tear, doctors in Madrid believe it was likely to have been damaged while Woodgate was at Newcastle.
Woodgate's is an extremely complex and apparently mystifying injury. When Madrid signed him, he was visiting Hans Müller Wohlfahrt, the so-called "Miracle Doctor" in Germany. And Dr John Bergfeld of the Cleveland Clinic said that Woodgate would be fully fit in eight to 10 weeks. "If not, surgery would be indicated."
That was 15 weeks ago and Madrid have refused to rule out surgery. Doctors are outwardly confident that they are on top of the injury and and have insisted Woodgate is making good progress with gym work.
But they have refused to provide targets because they fear that Woodgate, despite his optimism, will become disheartened should he fail to meet them. If he returns this season, it will be considered a success.
MJ :(
Woodgate injury leads to career fear
Torn tendon is new blow as England defender plays waiting game at Madrid
Sid Lowe in Madrid
Monday January 24, 2005
The Guardian
Jonathan Woodgate's thigh injury is significantly more serious than originally diagnosed and directors at Real Madrid fear it could jeopardise the defender's career.
The England centre-back has suffered a ruptured tendon in his left thigh as well as a torn muscle and, though the player and Madrid's medical staff publicly remain cautiously optimistic that he will play this season, the club are refusing to place a date on his return to action.
Important question marks have been raised about the handling of the injury, both by Woodgate's former club Newcastle United and now Madrid, whose medical officers came under pressure from the club president Florentino Pérez to rush Woodgate back to fitness.
Woodgate, who has yet to play for Real since his £14m transfer in the summer, broke down during a training match against the reserves on October 7, six days before his expected debut in a specially arranged friendly against a Second Division side.
That friendly, which was never played, was arranged on the orders of Pérez, who had announced at Woodgate's presentation in August that he would be playing "within three weeks". On September 23 he insisted: "Woodgate's injury is now cleared up and he will be ready to play in 10 days' time."
Privately Madrid's medical staff, keen to pursue a slower rehabilitation, were less convinced; Woodgate's subsequent deterioration has vindicated their position.
Woodgate, who pulled up chasing a ball, was diagnosed as having suffered a recurrence of the tear in the left rectus femoris muscle, which forms part of the quadriceps and had kept him out since April 18, while still at Newcastle, for whom he made only 28 league appearances in 20 months.
But scans carried out since have revealed that Woodgate also tore the intra-muscle, or aponeurosis, tendon - an injury with a typical recovery time of closer to six months, rather than the prognosis of a 10-week lay-off, itself just the latest in a series of unmet deadlines.
Madrid's current official medical report nevertheless describes Woodgate's injury as a "muscle fibre tear" and the club have made no announcement about the tendon. Nor was the tendon mentioned in the official statement of the Cleveland Clinic in the United States to which the player was sent in October.
It could be that the tendon injury was simply considered a corollary of Woodgate's muscle tear. But while tendon tears can accompany the rupturing of thigh muscles, they do not always. And the rehabilitation is far slower, sometimes even impossible, not least because tendons, unlike muscles, are denied a nutritive blood flow and therefore have no natural capacity for regeneration.
Besides, Madrid appear to be seeking to save face in not revealing the full extent of the injury. There has been no denial as such but nor has there been any public attempt to clarify Woodgate's situation.
Indeed, staff at Madrid are extremely reluctant to discuss Woodgate's condition and significant pressure has been brought upon media outlets close to the club not to report on the defender's progress.
The tendon tear was discovered only after the recurrence of Woodgate's muscle injury in October; the rupture of muscle fibres created a gap through which the tendon, usually virtually invisible on scans, was finally revealed. Although it was a fresh tear, doctors in Madrid believe it was likely to have been damaged while Woodgate was at Newcastle.
Woodgate's is an extremely complex and apparently mystifying injury. When Madrid signed him, he was visiting Hans Müller Wohlfahrt, the so-called "Miracle Doctor" in Germany. And Dr John Bergfeld of the Cleveland Clinic said that Woodgate would be fully fit in eight to 10 weeks. "If not, surgery would be indicated."
That was 15 weeks ago and Madrid have refused to rule out surgery. Doctors are outwardly confident that they are on top of the injury and and have insisted Woodgate is making good progress with gym work.
But they have refused to provide targets because they fear that Woodgate, despite his optimism, will become disheartened should he fail to meet them. If he returns this season, it will be considered a success.
MJ :(