 |
|
Brazil: Shock - Corinthians' Mascherano out until 2006 [Sat Sep 17th, 2005]
Corinthians' defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano, 21, will undergo surgery on a complex hairline fracture in his left navicular.
This bone – together with the lateral and intermediate cuneiforms – composes the centre of the foot that links the metatarsals (toes) to the heel and ankle structure. The operation and post-op physiotherapy will keep the Argentinean in dry dock until next year.
The injury was discovered by chance – club doctors double-checking the extent of a left thigh injury and finding out that the source of the problem was the foot. Mascherano had been visibly limping in three of his eight games for Corinthians, and a tomography revealed that the thigh problem was merely a knock-on effect of his fractured foot.
The club doctors immediately covered their rear ends by stressing that there wasn’t a sign of such a problem when MSI shelled out close to US$12 million to River Plate to bring the promising centre-half/midfielder to Corinthians. They do admit, however, that the past two years without a decent holiday had been compounded by Mascherano’s over-training.
Brazilian broadsheet ‘A Folha de S.Paulo’ revealed that Mascherano had hidden the problem, afraid that he’d lose his place in the Albiceleste. Before resorting to the knife, doctors tried in vain to use electrotherapy and physio. Mascherano himself plucked up the courage to admit that he may well have aggravated the problem.
“I was fine when I arrived from River, passing out the pertinent physicals. I started to notice that something was awry in the game against Paysandu [the 21st July game which Corinthians won 3-2], but I didn’t report it to the medical team because I really wanted to carry on playing. If there is a guilty party here; it’s me,†explained the laudably honest (a regrettably rare trait) player.
He went on to explain that he’d been influenced by an overwhelming desire to carve his name on the Albiceleste number 5 shirt before the 2006 World Cup. “I’m worried about the Cup, it’s true. All I want now is to recover as quickly as possible, get back to first team play with Corinthians and then be in peak form for the Selección.â€
The operation is scheduled for Saturday in Buenos Aires.
Aaron Marcus
News headlines from around the world.