Anso Patti is a young and promising talent, but he has one problem – he does not stop getting injured. The Barcelona diamond is suffering from another injury and initial estimates speak of two months out, at least. So what’s going on now? The Catalans’ medical team is in no hurry to release information, but according to the medical history and rumors on the networks, the Spaniard was injured in the hamstrings.
The hamstrings are the group of three muscles located at the back of the thigh that perform the knee flexion and alignment of the thigh. They are connected in their proximal part to the back of the pelvis and in their distant part to the fibula, which is small and external to the tibia. Mastering injuries are caused due to a load on the muscles / tendons that is larger than their ability to absorb.
Most often, such a load happens in fast movements like sprints, changes of direction or in Patti’s case, fast braking. Injuries are divided into three degrees. Tension in the muscle fibers, partial rupture of several fibers and complete rupture of the muscle. According to rumors, the Barça star is suffering from a grade 2 rupture, meaning an injury and a partial tendon rupture, which could indicate that the player will be out of action for the next two months.
The main cause of the Masters’ injury is a previous injury, and so is the Spaniard. Just 10 days ago, the winger returned to the squad after a two-month absence following the same injury. Did he come back too soon? Probably. While Masters injuries tend to recur, any delay in recurrence and extension of rehabilitation lowers the chances of recurrence.
From a comparative study conducted in the Premier League, it appears that extending the return time to the field by two weeks can reduce the percentage of recurring injuries from 34% to 6%. It is important to note that Patty’s injury is in his left leg, a leg that has undergone a piece of travel in the past year. In fact, in the 11 months of absence, the young Spain international underwent four meniscus surgeries.
The trouble started on November 8, 2020, when during a game against Betis, the then 18-year-old tore his meniscus. In the knee there are two menisci: medial (internal) and lateral (external). The menisci are actually a cartilaginous structure and are used as “shock absorbers” in the knee joint. The menisci are designed to absorb shocks vertically and shear or rotational movements endanger it, as happened to Patty.
There are many types of meniscus tears and the decision on treatment will be determined by the player’s symptoms, progress in physiotherapy and the type of tear. The treatment options are conservative treatment (in physiotherapy) or surgery. Surgery has two common options: suturing the meniscus or removing it. Sewing actually preserves the structure of the meniscus and thus protects the ability to absorb the shocks of the joint.
The disadvantage of this method is that rehabilitation after sewing is long and can take up to eight months. In addition, there is a risk of opening the seams and renewing the tear. In removing the meniscus the surgeon will cut and remove the damaged part and stabilize the damaged margins. While this option promises a quick recovery (about five weeks), some of the meniscus’ abilities are impaired.
The day after the injury, Patty had already undergone meniscus suturing. The stitching failed and the player had to undergo two more stitching surgeries, to try to save the damaged meniscus, without success. In early May, more than six months after the injury and after three failed surgeries, it was decided to finally remove the injured part. Due to the long absence, the rehabilitation, which was supposed to take about five weeks, was extended in three months.
What next?
Each injury / surgery increases the risk of recurrence 7 times (!). And Patty has a piece of injury history for a 19-year-old. In addition, meniscus removal has been proven to be a catalyst for degeneration and erosion of cartilage in the knee. Barcelona’s medical staff needs to make think about the conduct. Traumatic injuries following a bad landing or collision with an opponent are one thing, but such an injury usually indicates a return to the field too quickly.
In addition, because of Patti’s young age and all the medical history he has already gone through, any such injury lowers his confidence and raises a lot of future concerns. The medical staff will have to extend the rehabilitation time and focus on improving muscle function, and I believe that if the season returns, it will only be in April and that too for a few minutes. This season, Patti played just 10 games, in which he scored five goals and netted one. That is, involvement in the gate every 76 minutes. So despite all the injuries, there is still a lot of talent in the legs. Recovery, unfortunately, will be slow.
The author is Yonatan (Yoni) Karia, a sports physiotherapist who specializes in rehabilitation after surgeries and injuries.