The Curse of a Season Long Injury

       As Manchester United fan last nights performance was something I could rant about for probably the rest of my life.  But I want to talk about poor Antonio Valencia, the winger was carried off after going down under an innocuous-looking tackle from Kirk Broadfoot in the 62nd minute of the Champions League match, he went into hospital and will undergo surgery on Wednesday.  "It looks like a dislocation and a fracture," said boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "We're talking the rest of the season."      I want to talk you about a number of players who have had a season long injury and have never played the same since.


       Manchester United have had quite a few players in the last few years who have picked up serious injuries and haven't looked the same since Solskjær, Smith and Hargreves to name a few.

       Ole Gunnar Solskjær suffered a knee injury against Panathinaikos on 16 September 2003 put him out of action until February 2004.  Solskjær was then forced to undergo intensive knee surgery in August 2004 and had to miss the 04/05 season entirely.  He only played 5 games in the 05/06 season and didn't score a goal.  Solskjær had further surgery on his knee. However, it was not as serious as his previous operations, in the 06/07 season he played 32 games scoring 11 times. 
       But anyone who watched him play in those games would of told you that he didn't have the same impact of the bench that he used to.  On the 4 September  his retirement was officially announced over the Old Trafford tanoy, with Solskjær walking onto the pitch to a standing ovation. Solskjær holds the record for the most goals scored for Manchester United as a substitute, scoring 28 goals off the bench.

      On 18 February 2006, during a 1-0 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup, Alan Smith broke his leg and dislocated his ankle, the injury was described by many as 'one of the worst they've seen'.  On the next day it was confirmed that Smith would miss action for at least 12 months. However, in May, after a successful operation on his ankle, it was reported that he would likely be back in action as soon as mid-September. 
       Smith lost some off the tenacity that made him a class forward and a possible replacement for Roy Keane.  Some would say that that was a good thing as after his injury his discipline improved but in my opinion it came at a cost.  He wasn't the same player again and in August 2007 was off loaded to Newcastle United.

      The start of Owen Hargreaves' second season at United was hampered by injuries, a tendinitis problem restricted him to sporadic appearances in 2008–09. After trips to specialists in both London and Sweden yielded no results, Hargreaves travelled to the US, in November 2008.  Between then and now Owen has had multiple setbacks during his rehabilitation programme.
       On the 2 May 2010 Hargreaves played his first match since September 2008, in which time he had missed 113 matches in 20 months. Despite this, Hargreaves is set to miss the start of the 2010–11 season, having suffered another injury, for which he travelled to the United States to see a specialist.

   These three cases show what can possibly happen to a player who gets a long term injury break, they either retire, never get fully fit or become a shadow of their formers selves.  I hope this doesn't happen to Antonio Valencia he has shown his worth at United over the last year.  My best wishes go to him and I hope he gets well soon.