Archive for August, 2007
With the transfer deadline closing in just under 11 hours, West Ham are expected to be major players as they seek a quick fix for their injury jinx. New midfield signings Scott Parker, Freddie Ljungberg, Julien Faubert and Kieron Dyer have all been crocked, so Hammers boss Alan Pardew is believed to be lining up a move for Derby County’s teenage winger Giles Barnes.
Barnes himself has missed the start of the season with a metatarsal injury, and is yet to appear for Derby this season. One would think that if you were looking to solve an injury crisis, signing a player who is currently injured might not be wisest idea.
But then, this is West Ham.
At the age of 34, persistent knee injuries have finally called time on the career of Ole Gunner Solskjaer. His father, Oyvind, confirmed his retirement to the Norwegian press this morning:
He would have liked to stay on and was hoping for a 100% recovery, but something has happened with his knee which made it impossible for him to continue.
This final complication, after his most recent operation in June, has obviously proved a bridge too far for a player whose career looked over as much as two years ago. He made a remarkable comeback last season to score 11 goals as United romped to the Premiership title - a fitting end to a distinguished career.
United fans are understandably moved by this news, but they’ve had plenty of time to prepare for it - it can hardly be considered a surprise. The question is, will Ferguson buy to replace him? Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha are both still in The Treatment Room, so could Fergie turn to one of Nicolas Anelka or Obafemi Martins to boost his striking options?
With only a few days left in the transfer window, we’ll soon find out.
Ahead of this week’s game with Germany, here is the team England won’t be fielding.
In a 5-3-2 formation:
Ben Foster
Gary Neville
Sol Campbell
Michael Dawson
Johnathan Woodgate
Wayne Bridge
Aaron Lennon
Owen Hargreaves
Steven Gerrard
Wayne Rooney
Darren Bent
After the return of David Beckham, rumours are rife that Steve McClaren could recall the thirty-something pair of David James and Sol Campbell.
England, it seems, are becoming a venerable Dad’s Army. With the youthful David Bentley missing the call for the right-wing position, I can only assume that McClaren is digging up Stanley Matthews’ grave as we speak.
Peter Shilton could be the next number one, with Geoff Hurst recalled upfront - why not? He’s got a decent record against Germany. And he’s probably fitter than Michael Owen.
Ledley King is a fantastic footballer. When fit, he’s a shoe-in for pretty much every England squad. He’s an outstanding centre-half, and a solid holding midfielder. But his knee is made of polystyrene.
It’s a genuine shame. One of the most talented defenders of his generation has missed a huge amount of football due to chronic knee problems, and has once again been forced to admit there is no timescale upon a possible return.
No wonder Spurs are fishing around Curtis Davies.
If we were The News of the World, this story would be very different. But we’re not, and whilst certainly bizarre, this story remains entirely innocent.
Reading striker Leroy Lita has injured himself whilst stretching in bed. Manager Steve Coppel says:
Leroy is in a great deal of pain. It’s a point of laughter but a serious business for him.
It seems the problem may be related to nerve damage. Whilst I’m sure the Reading squad have had a good laugh at Lita’s expense, it’s unlikely they’ll be chuckling when they realise he’ll be out for up to a month.
What’s remarkable is that I sustained an identical injury only a few days ago. I was lying in bed stretching, then hopping around the room screaming as something in my calf went “pop!”
With the season beginning in just a few days, players need to watch out for injuries all time. Even, it now seems, in bed.
When using a stretcher, don’t lift the injured players face repeatedly into your groin.
Like a figure in the corner, the ghost of his broken metatarsal still haunts Tim Cahill. The Australian midfielder limped out of Everton’s 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen, and assistant manager Alan Irvine said:
He felt his foot which is a bit of a worry.
Can you feel your foot? If so, be worried. Irvine continues:
It obviously gave him a bit of a fright but we will just make sure he is ok.
I imagine a lullaby and a soothing hot drink will settle him down again. In seriousness, it seems the curse of the metatarsal break is refusing to relinquish its grip on footballers across the land. And arguably, as the number of games players play each season increases, these injuries will continue to occur more frequently. This study looked at the metatarsal fractures suffered by David Beckham, Michael Owen, and Danny Murphy:
It is interesting to note that the three injured England squad members played significantly more games than the average for their respective clubs; this is partly complicated by the success of the clubs, thus imposing more games on the players in a regular season. Moreover, although the exact type of fractures sustained by these players remains unknown, the relative innocuousness of the challenges or tackles that led to the injuries has been demonstrated clearly on television. The theory of repetitive loading compounded by muscle fatigue leading to a predisposition for stress fractures, seems well-founded in these circumstances. Similarly, the three injuries occurred towards the end of the football season, in which, with the possible exception of David Beckham, the players were fully involved, to an extent which may have left them vulnerable to stress fractures. Further work is indicated with regard to screening vulnerable athletes. It is possible that there is an argument for rest intervals in order for bone strains to decline, but this is merely a hypothesis at this stage. The recent calls by Sven Goran Eriksson and Arsene Wenger to the Football Association to insert a winter break into the football season may prove to have a scientific basis after all.
It’s not be one for the purists, but unless we want all our players to be “feeling their feet” sometime soon, a Christmas rest might be the only solution.
