A medical expert has warned that it can take up to 12 months for Joe Gomez to be able to play again after his knee injury.
Liverpool’s defensive injury continued to worsen when Gomez broke his patellar tendon while on international duty and the center-back is facing a significant period on the sidelines after surgery.
The 23-year-old is now unfortunately set for the third long-term injury without a career.
After injuring his ACL on his opposite knee in 2015, Gomez was out for 15 months after being diagnosed with tendinopathy in his Achilles tendon.
He also had four months off in 2018/19 because of an ankle surgery.
Gomez now has to undergo another strenuous rehabilitation phase in order to get fit again.
In an interview with ECHO, Dr. Katie Walker-Small, University of Cumbria Sports Rehabilitation Program Director, explains exactly what Gomez has to go through to get back to the Reds first team.
While Dr. Walker-Small praised how quickly Gomez was operated on, also warned that Gomez could take up to 12 months off to get back to the highest levels and avoid relapse.
“In terms of recovery, it is fantastic that they have everything under control with a quick operation – which in itself is important in reducing permanent weakness in the quads and speeding up healing,” she said.
“This is a fantastic start at first, then it’s about making sure after the surgery that the general flexibility of this quadriceps and patella unit is restored as soon as possible.
“This follows the initial immobilization phase he will be in, which itself can last about six weeks, where he will likely be braced with supportive crutches.
“Then, little by little, just bend the knee a little more to get some flexibility back into the patellar tendon as it heals.
“From there, hopefully after the knee has hopefully returned to full range of motion, you can work on a whole range of strengthening exercises.
“The final phase will then be in the criteria for returning to the game, which is a lot of the action, a lot of the exercises in football and the higher-level strength and conditioning work.”
Dr. Walker-Small added, “It certainly is likely that it could take a good six months in terms of recovery and return to play, although that in itself is rather accelerating.”
“Such an injury can take up to a year to reach full fitness goals again, especially given the level and standard he is obviously playing at and the strength requirements in relation to recovery.”
Dr. Walker-Small explained the severity of the injury, noting that a broken patellar tendon is often caused by strong movement.
She said, “A fracture of the patellar tendon is quite a significant and serious injury.
“It’s something that usually comes from an acute traumatic event. So it’s an instantaneous moment that causes a tendon to tear.
“There are several mechanisms that can cause it – it could usually be a very strong contraction of the unit that the quadriceps are involved in so that a ball could be kicked or sprinted forcefully, it could be an explosive jump or landing by one Be jump.
“It could even come from the foot planted in the ground to push off, and usually where the force exerted on the knee and patellar tendon simply overwhelms the mechanism and causes a break.”
England coach Gareth Southgate attributed the injury to the amount of football played in a compressed campaign due to the coronavirus delay last season.
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Dr. Walker-Small said fatigue could definitely have played a role in Gomez’s injury, but it wasn’t the only factor that can lead to fractures.
“There are many different factors that can make individual players more vulnerable to injury,” she said.
“Fatigue is one thing, so the ability to recover could be a predisposing factor to injury, but otherwise there are other things.
“Players who have had patellar injuries in the past may be more prone to injuries, such as minor injuries such as tendinitis.”
While some Reds fans might be keen to see Gomez back before the end of the season to help defend their title, it could well mean the former Charlton defender is also playing against time to be fit for the euro this summer to be.
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