Zlatan’s recovery from his knee injury has been nothing short of a miracle. A double knee injury with considerable damage to the cruciate ligament and the meniscus, sounds scary, doesn’t it? Though it can’t be classified as a career ending injury, the extent of it can usually lead to a year away from Football. Zlatan endured the injury on the 23rd of April, four months later; he’s signed a new contract with Manchester United. Zlatan has truly pulled a rabbit out of the hat there.
Injuries do multiple damages. It drowns your confidence and induces fear that might hinder your future indulgence in the activity that lead to it in the first place. Recovering from an injury is not just the long physiotherapy sessions and rehab; but it requires a lot of inner strength to overcome the mental block in your head.
Zlatan’s recovery was magical, but it remains to be seen how he will perform.
There have been a host of players who picked up potentially career threatening injuries but came out on top. Let’s look at 5 such footballers who rose to stellar heights post their injury layoffs.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy
Back in the late 1990’s, Ruud van Nistelrooy was setting the Eredivisie on fire with his noteworthy performances for PSV. His record of 62 goals in 67 games for the Dutch squad brought him in light of some of the top clubs in the World. Sir Alex Ferguson looked set to landing his man after successfully negotiating terms with PSV for his services, with a fee of ¢18.5 million being agreed. However, a training session injury meant Ruud van Nistelrooy had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out of action for over a year.
Sir Alex was ready to wait for a year for his rehabilitation but many saw that as a risky move. An ACL tear is the worst injury in world football. Many high-profile careers had to be cut short as a result of it.
He returned a year later and ended up becoming a Stretford End favourite, scoring 95 league goals in 150 games.
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Francesco Totti
Roma’s talismanic captain is undoubtedly one of the greatest Italian players of his generation. He recently hung his boots after 24 years of representing his boyhood club. That might not have been the case as he suffered a career threatening injury in 2006. In a Serie A clash against Empoli, he fractured his left fibula and severed a lot of ligaments.
Initial reports suggested a lengthy layoff and even said he would not be back to his best after the injury if at all he makes a comeback. Three months later, he was selected in Italy’s World Cup squad and the rest is history!
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Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes would usually be on the list of players who would get their opponents injured. Let’s be honest, his tackling isn’t in the same category as his vision and passing ability. But Paul Scholes was on the receiving end of a nasty injury. He suffered a knock to the head in a game against Birmingham City in 2005. This lead to him suffering from double vision and bleeding in the right eye. His return was highly unlikely and much debated on, as another injury would mean permanent damage to his eyesight.
But he came back next season and lead United to three back to back titles.
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Roy Keane
Roy Keane was another footballing casualty to the ACL injury. He suffered this injury in the 1997/98 season in an eventful game against Leeds United. He fell to the ground in the opposition penalty area that provoked Haland as he asked Roy to ‘stay on his feet’. He was out for the entirety of the season and many began questioning if he’d ever return; such was the fear of the ACL back then. But he came back next season and led United to the historic treble of 1998/99. Oh and, he ended up breaking Haland’s foot when the two met afterwards, ending his career in the process. Easy there, Roy!
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Petr Cech
Perhaps the most serious injury of the lot. Petr Cech has been associated with his headgear for quite some time now, but not many know the story behind it. Back in 2006, in an encounter against Reading, Petr Cech suffered a horrific clash with Stephen Hunt. His knee collided with Cech’s head that left the keeper reeling. He had fractured his skull and had to undergo a surgery. Doctors have revealed how lucky Cech was to escape from it alive. Ever since, he’s been wearing his headgear to protect his skull from further damage, and will easily go down as one of the best goalkeepers to have graced the Premier League.
