Sarthak Kumar narrates the tale of José Carlos who was once touted for big things but has had an injury-ravaged career.
What a beautiful joint it is - the knee.
Three of the strongest bones - the femur, the tibia and the patella - converging at the most used structure of the body. Just two ligaments hold the femur to the tibia - the anterior cruciate ligament keeps the tibia from sliding forward during knee motion and at the same time the posterior cruciate ligament keeps the femur from sliding forward.
Two types of cartilage make motion even easier; the first, articular cartilage covers the ends of the bones and provides a smooth gliding surface. The second, the meniscal cartilage, consists of two C-shaped pieces of cartilage that sit between the femur and the tibia, one on the inside and one on the outside of the joint. It acts as a shock absorber between the femur and the tibia.
To lubricate the knee a lining of tissue inside the joint called the synovium produces a lubricating fluid. And the entire joint is surrounded by a capsule that attaches to each side of the joint and helps keep the lubricating fluid inside. There is also a flurry of muscles, ligaments and tendons outside of the knee joint that function to stabilize the knee and allow active movement.
It’s a beautifully complicated structure. Beautifully complicated and effective too - the knee joint takes five times its usual weight while running.
Imagine what would happen if just one muscle, or one cartilage, or one ligament was overstrained.
Donning the number 9 shirt, José Carlos had the ball at his feet on the right wing. He dribbled the ball infield towards the edge of the box, faked a shot and fooled the entire defense - all with his left foot. He then shifted the ball to his right and took a shot from outside the box that goalkeeper Manu Herrera saved at the near post.
His left foot was deadly. A Sevilla graduate, he was ousted - despite his value to the team, and despite his speed and trickery making him the perfect impact sub - by new coach Gregorio Manzano. Cartagena in the second division took him for six months, before AEK Athens signed him permanently in the summer of 2011.
Reuniting with Sevilla coach Manuel Jiménez, José Carlos gained his form, and some versatility too - whether in central midfield, the wings or just behind the striker, José Carlos was playing with a renewed vigor. He scored four goals and assisted six more as AEK qualified for the Europa League, but were denied a license to play due to financial difficulties.
Those difficulties saw 30 players leave the club - José Carlos was one of them. And Rayo picked him up.
The good form continued, and he played in 32 league matches. The trickery that made him successful at Sevilla was back again - whether it was the right wing or the left - he dominated it. His first season saw Rayo reach eighth and qualify for the Europa League and, in a sense of déjà vu, were denied a license to play due to financial difficulties.
It was the first game of the 2013-14 season, and Rayo were dominating Elche. José Carlos was making Elche sweat. The 36th minute of what would eventually be a 3-0 win, and it looked like he had sprained his knee - he was taken off anyway - but nothing looked serious. On 19th August, 2013, Rayo thought it was a knee sprain.
On the 21st, Rayo knew it was something much worse.
José Carlos had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and that surgery was required. The knee that had blessed him with speed and agility would know come under the knife. And on the 23rd, the surgery was complete. A long, arduous recovery process followed, which saw José Carlos only return to the pitch on the 26th of March, 2013. After seven months out, he was going to grace the pitch for 23 minutes against Osasuna. Rayo were 0-0, and looking for a win.
And José Carlos was the match winner.
Receiving the ball on his left foot, he got past right-back Oier with a lovely piece of skill, was pulled down when Oier pulled at his clothing, and a penalty was awarded. In the last minute of the match, striker Joaquín Larrivey made no mistake. 1-0. It was an immediate recovery. There was hope that José Carlos could contribute something more to the team.
Three days later, José Carlos treaded on the Bernabéu, as Rayo faced city rivals Real Madrid. He whipped in in dangerous set-pieces - both free-kicks and corners. He gave Marcelo a hard time on the right wing. And he made sure his time on the green, lush grass of the Santiago Bernabéu was worth it.
Fate doesn’t think that way though - he came on in the 23rd minute for Rubén Rochina and left on the 79th minute of a 5-0 defeat for…no one - Rayo had exhausted their subs, and more importantly José Carlos was injured again. In his left knee. Again.
This time, it was post-traumatic synovitis, caused by inflammation of the synovial membrane. A good translation would be swelling, pain and career-jeopardising. Another recovery followed but he wasn’t going to give up so easily. His link with Rayo expired but newly promoted Córdoba give him a lifeline and a chance to fully recover.
On the 25th of October, 2014, he was back. Again. At home against Real Sociedad, José Carlos played the last 18 minutes of a 1-1 draw - admittedly not much but the comeback was more important - he was back where he belonged.
And then, predictably, almost with tragical certainty, José Carlos was back on the injury table.
The cruciate ligament that had torn once had now been torn twice. Just five days into his comeback, and now he would be out for a year, possibly even more. Córdoba rescinded his link on the 13th of November, and he had been without a club since.
Which brings us to the 9th of December of this year. After having trained for a month with Catalan minnows UE Llagostera, coach Orion Alsina was impressed by what he was and signed him on. While he could only start playing from January, after more than three years on the injury table and over a year of unemployment, at least he has recovered fully and has a club that supports him.
Finally, a left knee that has seen two ACL tears and a synovial inflammation, a left knee that terrorised defenders and a left knee that is now fully healed, will grace the football pitch once again.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1RsPZHV
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