It’s been a long road back from injury, but Gedion Zelalem has set his sights on a return.
After tearing his ACL in the first match of last summer’s U-20 World Cup, Zelalem took to Instagram to reveal that he expects to be healthy in time for preseason this summer. The midfielder began running again this past December, but a winter setback pushed his return back from the initial nine-month timeline.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BghF2IjhCNp/
The midfielder reportedly remained at Arsenal in an effort to continue his rehabilitation, but has gone away on two loan moves since signing with the club in in 2014. Zelalem spent the 2015-16 season in the Scottish second division with powerhouse Rangers before joining VVV Venlo in 2017.
I tore my ACL, MCL and Meniscus in college, and with a great training staff helping, and lots of tlc, I was back competing in track mid-distance events (albeit not 100%) in just over 4 months after surgery. However i took 2 months before surgery to let the Meniscus heal up first. Granted that is mostly straight with slight turns and doesn’t require the stop and go, cutting, and lateral movement of soccer. Every recovery is different – I definitely agree with Dennis on this. Best of luck for Gedion he still has a lot of hard work ahead of him.
Injuries are the bane of would-be professional athletes and many amateurs as well. Some who recover from ACL ruptures regain full mobility and fitness, some never do. Hard work to recover helps, but there is also an element of luck concerning the knee’s structure and how much other damage happened.
As I was told when I tore my ACL, for the ACL replacement we want you up and working on regaining strength, but you also damaged your meniscus and for that rest and a slower, less aggressive return was recommended. So, rest, but work hard. FWIW, the meniscus tear got worse and needed a 2nd repair the ACL seems OK but the MDs would be happier if I did not play soccer
When i think about the number of players that had insane ability but never fully reached their potential because of injuries within the USMNT pool, it’s depressing! I’m not saying in anyway that Gedion will not realize his potential/hype, but man the list is already a long one and makes you think what could have been!