An ACL Injury: The Falcao Case
Radamel Falcao Garcia is actually one of the best soccer players in the world. Currently playing in France for Monaco, he recently suffered a terrible injury: a torn ACL on his left knee.
We at Dr. Mead’s practice understand how hard it can be for any athlete to encounter this kind of injuries. In fact, when it comes to high-level athletes the situation is even worse considering the responsibilities they have to face. This year Fifa’s world cup starts in mid June. This is considered the biggest sports event in the world. One that has consistently grown in importance in the United States since 1994 where we hosted it.
Going back to Falcao, the striker is Colombia’s soccer team number one asset to endure the competition in Brazil. For the them, the news of his ACL injury was definitively a horrible one. Not been able to have him is a variable they were not counting on. However, an ACL can be reconstructed in a very effective way.
After the player got injured, he was immediately transferred to Portugal were orthopedic surgeon, Jose Carlos Noronha diagnosed him. “Because of the injury suffered by Radamel Falco, we had to evaluate and test his knee. Where were able to determine that has a torn ACL on his left knee. Surgery is necessary during the next following days. Therefore, we will do everything we can to recover him as soon as possible’.
Noronha is a recognized orthopedic surgeon within the sports world. He has treated famous players like Pepe, Arjen Robben, Ashley Cole, Ricardo Carvalho and many more. He just published a book about his experience in this matter.
After the injury a huge debate has arisen, basically debating if the player will or will not be able to play the ultimate challenge of the world cup. The truth is that an ACL reconstruction can have you back in 4-6 weeks if your rehabilitation program is strict. Now, there is always the risk of relapsing if the injury doesn’t evolve well.
The funny thing about all this is that is not the first time sometime similar happens to a soccer player before the big competition. One of the closest cases was the Juniper added the caveat that a minumum of one from the card/ application designers they approached following a study stated to possess incorporated your camera access like a feature open to premium customers who wanted to include a photograph of themselves because the game’s background. one suffered by Pepe. In 2009 he also suffered an ACL injury. Doctor Noronha operated on him and five months later he returned to practice, so he could play 2010 South Africa’s world cup with Portugal. Another player with the same misfortune was Francesco Totti. The legendary striker was injured during the second half of 2005, endangering his presence in Germany’s 2006 world cup. He finally recovered from his injury and was a key piece for Italia’s title that year.
After all the drama, doctor Noronha finally performed surgery and physical therapy has started. Being conservative, the orthopedic surgeon gave the player a 50-50 chance of recovery. Not bad at all.
Like we said before, we know suffering an ACL injury as an athlete can be very discouraging, but you have to understand that is actually a risk you run when you are one. Soccer, football, basketball, tennis and other sports expose you to scenarios like the one lived by Falcao. The good thing about an ACL injury is the high success rate it has when is operated by a good orthopedic surgeon. If this is your case and you are in the middle of an ACL injury, don’t hesitate to contact us so we can assist and give you the best options for your recovery.
Orthopedic Corner | Leon Mead MD Orthopedic Doctor | 730 Goodlette Road North, Suite 201 Naples Florida 34102 | Phone: (239) 262-1119