Zlatan Ibrahimovic played almost an entire season without the cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Chief Medical Officer and cruciate ligament specialist Anders Stålman is clear that this is possible – but it is not really recommended.
– He invested everything in one card, he says.
On Wednesday, Milan said that Zlatan Ibrahimovic Shortly after the league, he put gold under the knife of Dr. Bertrand Sonnéry Cotet in Lyon.
The 40-year-old revealed, Thursday, that he played almost the entire season without the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Pain relievers every day for six months. He wrote that he hardly slept six months because of the pain.
Anders Stålman is an orthopedic specialist and researcher in cruciate ligament injuries. He has followed Zlatan’s knee problems from the side. Obviously it could do as well as Zlatan but no doctor would recommend it.
“High risk of new infection”
– If you are a good coach and have good neuromuscular control, you can make up for it. But usually we don’t recommend it because most people can’t handle it and there are significant risks associated with it. There is a significant risk of a new injury to the meniscus and cartilage that significantly worsens the prognosis, he says.
– But Zlatan of course struck a balance on the risks, if he had had the operation when the injury happened, the whole season would have ended and he thought it was worth a try.
Zlatan himself says he emptied his knee of fluids every week. That’s a sign of worsening damage, says Anders Stallman.
Not good, it indicates another knee injury. Not the damaged cruciate ligament behind the swelling but possibly some meniscus or cartilage.
Increased risk of osteoporosis
What big risks is he taking in the future but after his career by playing such a casualty?
– He’s definitely taking a bigger risk. Statistically, more than half of cruciate ligament patients develop osteoarthritis of the knee 15 years after injury. It is reasonable to believe that the risk increases even more if you play with the injury. It’s a gamble, he bet everything on one card.
Anders Stålman knows the French orthopedist Bertrand Sonnery-Cotte well who performed the operation after meeting in different research contexts over the years.
– He’s very good, a very serious person. He firmly believes in a way to strengthen the outside of the knee with the help of a small strip of connective tissue tape and secure it to the lower leg.
– It’s a method that there is no complete consensus about and it is very different from the way he had surgery on his right knee. Anders Stålman says it’s unclear if it’s helpful but harmless, and there are no such drawbacks.
It is said that Zlatan has already extended his contract. Anders Stålman thinks it’s possible to come back again.
– I didn’t see his knee, but he shouldn’t run. If he’s motivated and you do a good job, it’s not impossible to go back. But he says it takes a lot.